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A MANUAL FOR 

FARMLR5, DAIRYMEN 

AND 5TUDLNT5 

BY 

G. H. BENKENDORF 
•' AND 
K. L. HATCH 

UNIVLRSITY OF WISCONSIN 
COLLEGL OF AGRICULTURE 

MADISON, WISCONSIN 



.>-*«»*ftS:- •*• .X-- *--»- 



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FOREWORD 



' I 'HIS little book is intended as a text 
■*• book for the student of dairying, as 
well as a manual for farmers and dairy- 
men. While the information contained 
herein is believed to be as reliable as that 
of scientific publications, it is set down 
in a form adapted to the general reader. 
No apologies are made for the use of 
everyday language, as the writers believe 
it best adapted to the needs of the general 
reader. They are also convinced that the 
same simplicity of style is better adapted 
to the student of scientific agriculture. 
Acknowledgment is made to those who 
have assisted us in any way in the pro- 
duction of this work, and especially to 
the breeders who have permitted us to 
use photographs of famous dairy animals 
for illustrations. 



Benkendorf & Hatch 



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■ V 



Copyright 




1915 




by 


K. 


L. Hatch 



'CI,A414oJ^7 







Dr. S. M. Babcock 
Inventor of the Babcock Test 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 

soil of his farm growing richer and more productive. All of these 
scmewhat surprising assertions admit of absolute proof and will be 
fully discussed in the chapters which follow. 

But the farmer who reads this must neither think it an over- 
drawn case for dairy farming en the one hand, nor imagine on the 
other hand that all he has to do is get a few cows and that they will 
take care of him for the rest of his days. Both positions are equally 
erroneous. No man can permanently succeed in any undertaking 
without putting intelligent thought and energy into his work. Neither 
can the dairy farmer. 

The ability to secure profits from dairying lies in a thorough 
knowledge of its fundcmental principles. It is hoped that the infor- 
mation contained in this little bock will be of value to the farmers 
who may chance to read it, in that it endeavors to set these principles 
forth in a simple and practical way. The authors have avoided the 
use of scientific terms so far as it is possible for them to do so, and have 
tried to use language and illustrations easily within the grasp of 
men not trained in scientific work. Wherever it has been necessary 
to resort to unusual terms, these term.s are fully explained in ordinary 
every-day language. If the farmer, into whose hands this little book 
may happen to fall, will follow its teachings, exercise due industry, 
patience and perseverance, he cannot go far wrong in branching out 
into dairy farming, if he is not already engaged therein. If he is 
already a dairyman, it is hoped that it will render him service by 
assisting him to improve his methods, and increase his profits. 



-G 



PROFITA BLE DAIRYING 

CHAPTER I. 

DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDUSTRY. 

Dairying as an agricultural industry is very old, but as a "com- 
mercial" industry placed on a firm and sure scientific basis, it is 
very new — ^just about a quarter of a century of age. Its success is 
largely due to the invention of two machines which have completely 
revolutionized the whole industry. These two machines are the 
Babcock tester and the centrifugal separator. 

Previous to 1879 the only method in common use for the sep- 
aration of fat from the milk was by setting the milk either in pans 
or cans and allowing the cream to rise naturally, but in that year 
two machines were invented, one in Denmark and the other in Sweden, 
which made use of the principle of centrifugal force for this separation, 
and were so constructed that the process was continuous. Since 
that time other inventors have placed modifications of these machines 
on the market, but the principle employed by all of them is the same, 
until today there are a dozen or more styles of thoroughly reliable 
centrifugal separators in everyday use. 

The centrifugal method of separation effected so large a saving 
of butter fat to the farmers that creameries rapidly sprang up, par- 
ticularly in the north central states, only to be defeated of their mission 
by dissatisfaction and fraud, because there was no quick and satisfac- 
tory method for determining the richness of the milk delivered by the 
patrons, nor any practical way by which a factoryman could determ.ine 
the losses in skim milk, etc. In these early creameries and cheese 
factories an unprincipled patron could water his milk in order to 
get the lion's share of the profits, as it was then the custom to pay 
for milk by the hundred weight. Of course such fraud was certain 
to cause dissatisfaction, besides being manifestly unjust. 

Another thing well known even in those days, is that all cows 
are not equally good fat producers, that is, all cows do not give milk 
equally rich in fat, and the "pooling system," as it is called, where all" 
farmers are paid the same price per hundred pounds of milk without 
regard to its fat content, is plainly not equitable. 

These two facts, viz.: that a' patron ?ould adulterate his milk 
and thereby increase his profits, and that a patron, although not 
adulterating his milk, could deliver milk from herds testing low in 
fat, and receive the same amount of money per hundred pounds of 
milk at the factory, led Dr. Babcock in an effort to solve the vexed 
problem of providing the dairy world with a quick and easy method 
for determining the fat content of milk. His labors resulted in the 
invention of what is now known as the Babcock test in the vear 1890, 



PROFITA BLE DAIRYING 

M'hich date marks the beginning of active progress in the dairy indus- 
try. This invention is such a simple and practical method for the 
determination of fat in milk, cream, butter and cheese that it has 
never been improved upon, and it is doubtful if a better method will 
ever be discovered. Dr. Babcock's name is known the world over, 
and it is certain that no other man has ever contributed such a rich 
legacy to agriculture as has Dr. Babcock by the invention of this test. 
He did not patent it but gave it free to a great agricultural population 
where it found immediate adoption and widespread use. 

As an illustration of the rapid development of the dairy indus- 
try, it is only necessary to call attention to the census reports of 
the United States, which show but five creameries and cheese factories 
within its domains in the year 1860. 

Very slowly this number increased in twenty or thirty years but 
very rapidly after 1890 until we nov/ have according to the census 
of 1910, the latest data available, 6,235 creameries and 3,846 cheese 
factories scattered throughout the United States. Of these, of course, 
the greater number are located in the states of New York, Wisconsin, 
Minnesota and Iowa. To show the immensity of the industry the 
following tables are taken from the United States Census Reports 
for 1910 which represent the production for the year 1909 — only the 
ten leading states can be given for want of space. 

BUTTER (BOTH FARM AND FACTORY) 

Total Production for entire United States 1,619,415,263 lbs. 

Wisconsin 131,085,193 " 

Iowa 127,261,755 " 

Minnesota 123,551,515 " 

Pennsylvania 91,642,332 " 

Michigan .>.:■;. . .^: .:/;/. .: 85,917,186 " 

Ohio 81,060,383 " 

Illinois 71,180,968 " 

New Yorlc 69,358,918 " 

Texas ..■■ 67,126,804 " 

Indiana :....' 54,894,267 " 

CHEESE (BOTH FARM AND FACTORY) 

Total Production for entire United States 320,532,181 lbs. 

Wisconsin .' ' 148,906,910 " 

New York 105,584,947 " 

Michigan 13,673,336 " 

Pennsylvania 12,676,713 " 

Ohio 12,473,834 " 

Illinois 4,881,153 « 

Oregon 4,388,158 " 

California 4,345,513 " 

Vermont 3,008,540 " 

Minnesota :■. l ..■ .'7. ;, 2,841,958 " 

8 



PRO FITABLE DAIR YING 

It may be of interest to the reader to know that in 1850 about 
100,000 000 pounds of cheese were produced on the farms of the 
United States while in 1910 only about 8,000,000 pounds were produced 
which shows how completely the cheese industry has been revolu- 
tionized. The same rapid change is taking place in the creamery 
industry. At the present time about two-tifths of the butter made 
in the United States is already manufactured in the butter factories. 
This change is due to the rapid introduction of the hand separator. 

It may be argued that the dairy industry will soon be over- 
done. The following table may be of interest to anyone studying 
this question: 

Population of the U. S. (Census 1890)— 62,622,256. 
Population of the U. S. (Census 1910)— 91,972,266. 

Increase in Population 46 . 7% 



Production of Butter in the U. S. (Census 1890) 1,205,508,384 lbs. 

Production of Butter in the U. S. (Census 1910) 1,619,415,263 " 

Increase in Amount of Butter Produced 34.3% 



Production of Cheese m the U. S. (Census 1890) 256,761,888 lbs. 

Production of Cheese in the U. S. (Census 1910) 320,532,181 " 

Increase in Amount of Cheese Produced 24.8% 

Comparing the increase in the butter and cheese produced with 
the increase in population, dairymen need not be alarmed about an 
over-production. 

Notwithstanding the high prices paid for milk, butter and cheese, 
milk and its products are am.ong the very cheapest, most wholesome 
and most nutritious articles of human food. People are rapidly 
learning the economy of using dairy products. Estimates have been 
made showing that about one-sLxth of the food consumed by the 
people is some form of dairy product. There are more digestible 
nutrients contained in twenty-five cents worth of milk at eight cents 
per quart than can be obtained from the same amount of money 
expended for meat, fish, fruits or vegetable^ at ordinary market 
prices. This fact will always operate to keep up the prices of dairy 
products. The cow is the most economical food producer e.xtant. 
No one need fear an over-production of dairy products. Whatever 
may have been the ups and downs of the past, certain it is that the 
future of the dairy industry looks exceedingly bright. 

g 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 

The State Food Commission of Illinois recently published a 
bulletin from which we take the following. Each food listed contains 
approximately the same amount of nutritive material as one quart 
of milk. 



Weight 



Pounds Ounces 



Approxi- 
mate 
Weight 
Grams 



Cost per 

Pounds 

Cents 



Total 
Cost 
Cents 



Milk, Whole 

Cheese, Full Cream 

Condensed Milk, Sweetened. 

Eggs 

Beef, Round 

Codfish, Salt 

Oysters 

Corn Meal , 

Bread, White 

Beans, Dry 

Beans, Canned, Baked 

Beans, String 

Potatoes 

Cabbage 

Tomatoes 

Turnips 

Onions 

Bananas 

Apples 



2.36 
5.6 
7.37 
.62 

11.85 
.48 

14.21 
6.43 
8.8 
6.9 
3. 

14. 
3.79 

11.8 



7.5 
8.6 
7.5 



975 

160 

210 

470 

335 

920 

2217 

180 

250 

195 

550 

1760 

1010 

2600 

3175 

2495 

1575 

1150 

1575 



22 
15 

35 (doz.) 
20 

7 
15 

3 

7.5 

6.5 
10 

9 

i^ 

2.5 

5 

1 

2 

6 

1.5 



7.7 
6.9 
22.3 
14.8 
14.3 
72.6 
1.2 
4.1 
2.82 
11.9 
35. 
3.95 
14.3 
35. 
5.5 
7. 
15. 
5.2 



EXERCISES. 

1. What is m.eant by the statement: ''The cow is the most 
economical food producer?" 

2. If the above be true will consumption of dairy products 
probably increase or decline? 

3. Will consumption of meat in the United States increase -or 
decline as population increases? 

4. How does America compare with Europe in the consumption 
of meat? 

5. Is there any other animal that may possibly be used to produce 
dairy products even cheaper than the cow? 



10 



p'rofitable dairying 

CHAPTER II. 
COMPOSITION OF MILK. 

Milk as secreted is opaque and white in appearance. Normally it 
usually has a slightly yellowish tinge, due to the fat globules it con- 
tains. The white color is due to suspended particles interfering with 
the passage of the light. Skim milk, or milk from which the fat has 
been removed, has a bluish tinge. Milk has a sweet taste when 
drawn owing to the presence of the milk sugar. 

Milk is heavier than water, having a specific gravity of about 
1.029 to 1.033. This means that if a vessel held exactly 1.000 pound 
of water, this same vessel would hold from 1.029 to 1.033 pounds of 
milk. 

Milk may be considered as consisting of two parts, viz.: the fat 
and the serum. One hundred pounds of milk ordinarily contains 
about 3.7 pounds of fat, the serum being all of the constituents of 
the milk except the fat, or 96.3 pounds. 

There is no chemical union between the fat and the serum, but 
the fat floats in the serum in the form of very small particles varying 
in size and number in different kinds of milk. The number of fat 
globules in a cubic millimeter, which is about the size of a pinhead, 
is from one to five million, depending, of course, upon the kind of 
milk. Ordinary milk contains about two million fat globules to the 
drop, and it is estimated by the Agricultural Department at Wash- 
ington that it would take a man ten years to count the number 
in a cubic centimeter, at the rate of one hundred per minute, count- 
ing ten hours per day. 

When first drawn the fat globules are uniformly distributed, but 
after standing a few minutes these globules gather into groups of 
ten to one hundred, although we find throughout the milk small, 
isolated, individual globules. Their average diameter is about one 
ten-thousandtli of an inch, while others are so small that they appear 
under a microscope like very tiny specks, too small to be measured. 

The number of fat globules increases as the period of lactation 
advances, there being from two to three times as many in the same 
volume at the end as at the beginning; the size, however, greatly 
diminishes. The fat globules in milk of different breeds vary in 
size, the largest ones being found in Jersey milk. The Ayrshire 
and Holstein-Friesian cows have the smallest; the Shorthorn rank- 
ing between the Jersey and Ayrshire, although certain strains of 
Shorthorn cows produce milk wnth very large fat globules. It may 
be interesting to note that the largest fat globules on record were 
found in Shorthorn milk. 

11 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 

The serum is composed of water and solids (usually designated 
as solids not fat). These embrace such sohds as casein, albumen, 
sugar and ash, varying in amounts with different individual cows, 
and with the fat comprise what are known as total solids. Below 
is a table showing the average composition of milk: 

Water 87 . 4 per cent 

Fat i . .■. .\ 3.7 per cent 

Albumen 5 per cent 

Casein 2.7 per cent 

Milk Sugar 5.0 per cent 

Ash 7 per cent 

100.0 

The most variable of these constituents is the fat; the casein also 
varies but not quite so much as the fat, albumen, sugar and ash 
being quite constant. The fat content varies a great deal according 
to the breed. It is well known that the milks of Jersey and Guernsey 
breeds are rich in fat. To show these breed variations we append the 
following table compiled by the agricultural experiment stations of 
America: 

Solids Fat 

Jersey 14.70 percent 5.35 percent 

Guernsey 14.71 percent 5.16 percent 

Shorthorn 13 ,38 per cent 4.5 per cent 

Ayrshire 12.61 per cent 3 . 66 per cent 

Holstein-Friesian 1 1 . 85 per cent 3 . 42 per cent 

It must not be inferred from this that all Jersey cows produce 
milk of such richness as given in this table. As a matter of fact 
there is a great difference between the individuals of each breed. Cer- 
tain Holstein-Friesian cows have been known to produce milk testing 
as low as 2.8 per cent fat, and even lower, while other individual 
Holstein-Friesian cows may produce milk containing 4.0 per cent 
fat. But this table shows the average from a large number of cows. 

The per cent of fat in milk changes somewhat with the period 
of lactation. Professor Van Slyke of the Geneva Station, New 
York, gives a table showing a gradual increase as the period of lacta- 
tion advances. It will be noticed that for the first five months the 
milk did not increase in richness, but remained practically the same; 
after that the fat of the milk gradually became richer as the period 
advanced. 

12 



PROFITABLE D A I R Y I N G 

Month of Per cent of 

Lactation Fat in Milk 

1 4.54 

2 4.33 

3 4.28 

4 4.39 

5 4.38 

6 4.53 

7 4.56 

8 4.66 

9 4.79 

10 5.00 

The time between milkings has a great influence on the fat content 
of the milk. It is quite generally known that morning milk is richer 
than evening milk. This is not always true, but in general we find 
that when a cow is milked three or four times a day she will produce 
richer milk than when she is milked twice only. As a rule the richer 
milk follows the shorter period between milkings. This is an impor- 
tant fact to bear in mind when the milk of a cow is tested for its fat 
content. 

Milk will vary a great deal in richness from day to day. The 
health of the animal also has an influence on the variation of the 
percentage of fat. Excitement may very materially reduce the quan- 
tity of milk as well as the quality. It is therefore poor policy for 
a dairyman to abuse his cows by beating them or by allowing them 
to be chased by dogs. 

The first milk after a cow freshens is termed colostrum milk. 
Instead of ha\dng a solid not fat content of 9.0 per cent, it seldom 
falls below 18.0 per cent. The great increase in the solids not fat 
is due to the increase in those substances which are very essential 
as a food for the calf during the first three or four days after birth, 
viz.: casein and albumen. The following table gives the composi- 
tion of this milk, showing that the fat content is quite normal but 
that the solids not fat differ greatly from the solids not fat in normal 
milk: 

Water ■. . . . 74.6 percent 

Fat 3.6 per cent 

Casein 4.0 per cent 

.\lbumen 13 .6 per cent 

Milk Sugar. 2.6 per cent 

Ash 1.6 per cent 

100.0 

However, these solids not fat constituents in the colostrum milk 
decrease very rapidly, so that the milk becomes "normal" at the 
seventh or eighth milking. This colostrum milk, although it is not 

13 



PROFITABLE DAIR YING 

in any way poisonous, is very undesirable for purposes other than 
food for the calf. It should, therefore, not be delivered to a creamery 
or cheese factory until it is fit for human use. 

The casein in milk varies with different animals from 1.8 per 
cent to 3.0 per cent, but in the individual it is quite constant. This 
casein, with the albumen, comprise what arc known as proteids of 
milk. These proteids are very valuable as food and furnish the 
muscle producing elements so essential. The casein and the fat 
constitute what are known as the cheese solids of milk. These two 
components determine the value of the milk for cheese production. 

The sugar in the milk is an important constituent, but should 
not be confused with commercial cane sugar. Milk sugar is only 
about one-fourth to one-fifth as sweet as ordinary cane sugar. It is 
manufactured from the whey at a few cheese factories in this country, 
located where large quantities of whey are available, but has very 
little commercial value, being used only in the preparation of 
modified milk. 

A great deal may bq said in regard to the quality of milk as 
affected by varying conditions, such as slow and fast milking, sudden 
changes in the feed and the nervous condition of the cow. Suffice 
it to say that a good dairyman will always treat his cows kindly, 
will not be boisterous while handling them, will not excite them in 
any way, will feed them regularly and provide shelter for them. He 
will remember that the cow is one of his best friends and that she 
represents so much capital invested, and that abusing her will very 
materially affect the dividends that she will be able to pay him. 

EXERCISES. 

1. How many pounds of milk solids in a hundred pounds of 
milk? How much water? 

2. Which breed probably produces the greatest amount of solids 
per hundred pounds of milk? 

3. How many pounds of solid food are produced by a cow giving 
25 pounds of milk daily? This is equal in dry matter to how many 
pounds of beefsteak? 

4. About how much solid food matter is produced by a cow giving 
10,000 pounds of milk in a year? 

5. This is equal in total food matter to how much beef? How 
many yearling steers would be necessary to equal in beef the food 
products of such a cow? 

6. Do you weigh the milk of the home herd? 

7. Do you know how much food material each of your cows pro- 
duces in a year? 

14 



P R O F I T A B L E i D A I: R Y I N JG 

CHAPTER III. 

MILK SECRETION. 

It is very essential that a dairyman should understand the funda- 
mental principles connected with his work. Not the least of these 
is the secretion of milk. In this brief work we cannot discuss in 
detail the various theories and opinions advanced in regard to the 
secretion of milk, but will in a general way cover the ground so that 
the reader will have a fair understanding of the subject. 

Milk may be briefly defined as a characteristic secretion of the 
mammary glands. Its primary function, naturally, is for the nutrition 
of the young. As a food for young animals it cannot be excelled, 
for it contains the elements that are necessary for the building up 
of the tissues of the body, and it contains these elements in the proper 
proportion. The class of animals that suckle their young are termed 
"mammals" and are nearly all four-footed animals. To this order, 
however, belong some animals that live in the sea, such as porpoises 
and whales, which secrete a fluid Very similar to that of the milk of 
land animals; but with a few exceptions all mammals are land animals. 
We shall, however, confine our discussion of milk in this work to that 
produced by cows, although the milk of other animals, such as sheep 
and goats, is used as food in different places, especially in various 
parts of Europe. 




Daisy Grace De Kol 
Note large udder and well developed milk veins. 

15 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 

The glands which secrete the milk are only two in number. There 
may be one lobe to each gland, or, as in the case of the dog or swine, 
several. In cows these lobes are termed "quarters," and there are 
two to each gland. These four quarters form what is termed the 
udder. 

These glands are separated from each other by a membrane. 
There is, therefore, no connection between the right and left sides 
of the udder. Each teat has practically its own system of cisterns, 
channels and cells. But there is more or less connection between the 
smaller ducts in the upper parts of the lobes on the same side. It is 
therefore possible to get more than half as much milk from one teat, if 
milked by itself, than can be obtained when both teats are milked 
at the same time. 

Just above each teat we find a small cavity from which there 
lead many small channels; these in turn lead to other but smaller 
cavities. All these cavities are termed "cisterns." These small 
channels, with their cisterns, ramify the udder, becoming smaller 
and smaller, finally terminating in cells. These are the alveoli 
cells. These cells are about one-thirtieth of an inch in diameter 
and are arranged in groups of three to live, having a common outlet. 
The inner walls of alveoli cells are made up of a layer of very minute 
epithelial cells; sometimes there are two or three layers of these cells. 
These small cells are filled with protoplasm, and when this proto- 
plasm is discharged it is termed milk. 

At one time it was the general belief that the udder was a reservoir, 
and it may be that many readers still have the impression that this 
is the case. This is not true, for the total capacity of all the reservoirs 
or cisterns is not one-fourth the yield of the milk. 

The glands secrete milk all the time, but principally at the time 
of milking. We can compare this to the secreting of tears by the 
tear glands of the eye. These glands secrete tears all the time, but 
especially when an animal experiences great joy or grief. Similarly 
the nervous condition of the cow at the time of milking will greatly 
influence the secretion of milk. 

As previously stated, there are many theories advanced as to 
the formation of milk. It was formerly claimed by some that milk 
is filtered out of the blood; the udder being well supplied with arteries 
and veins probably giving rise to this idea. 

We find, however, that there is very little if any milk sugar in 
the blood, while there is a great deal in milk. No casein is found 
in the blood. It is also a fact that the albumen in milk coagulates 
dififerently from the albumen of the blood. Further, it may be stated 

16 



PRO FITABLE DAIR YING 

that the ash iii milk is not the same as the ash in the blood. It is 
believed that somehow in the process of secretion certain parts of the 
blood (partly by transudation of the blood serum) enter the cavity 
of the alveoli cells and that there certain changes take place, for 
example some of the albumen may be changed to casein, etc. While 
the process of secretion is going on new ephithelial cells are constantly 
being formed, just how is not known at the present time. 

The attention of the reader is now called to a very important 
point, viz.: that the tendency of the cell is always to produce milk 
of its own particular composition. This tendency is very constant, 
and therefore the composition of milk cannot be permanently changed 
by any particular change of feed. Of course it is well understood that 
the quantity of milk which a cow produces may be considerably 
increased, but the quality will remain practically the same. To 
make this plain, we may use this illustration: A tree will always pro- 
duce the same kind of fruit; by giving the tree good food it is possible 
to increase its yield, but a winesap tree will always produce winesap 
apples. So it is with the cow. It is the nature of the cells to secrete 
a particular grade of milk, and therefore no system of feeding will 
permanently increase or decrease its fat content. The idea is preva- 
lent among many farmers that a cow can be made to give rich or 
poor milk, depending on what she is fed. 

The Danes did a great deal of work along this line, experimenting 
to see whether or not feed influenced the richness of the milk, and in 
conducting their experiments used over a thousand animals. The 
average variation was only about one one-hundredth of one per cent. 
Such a slight variation cannot be attributed to the method of feeding. 
Experiments have been conducted by taking a poor herd of cows and 
testing each individual carefully and then feeding judiciously. The 
quantity of milk produced was easily increased, but the quaUty 
always remained normal. 

The fact that "fat cannot be fed into a cow" is very important. 
A farmer can test the milk of a heifer, and if she does not produce 
milk of a satisfactory quality he need not keep her, for he may rest 
assured that the quality of her milk will not materially change later 
on in her life. In this way, therefore, it is possible for a farmer to 
build up a good herd by selecting his cows. This topic will be dis- 
cussed more at length in a later chapter. 

EXERCISES. 

1. Why are large "milk veins" necessary to high milk produc- 
tion? 

17 



PROFITABLE _D A I R Y I N G 

2. How do we know that the udder is not a reservoir in which 
milk is stored to be drawn at milking time? 

3. On the other hand how do we know that milk is being secreted 
all the time but principally at milking time? 

4. Why do cows sometimes "leak" milk? Does this ever happen 
with light milkers? Hard milkers? 

5. Can fat be fed into milk? 

6. What influence does feed have on milk, if any? 

7. Do you know which cows of your herd give the richest milk? 
Which the poorest? 



18 



P_R OFITA BLE DAIR YING 

CHAPTER IV. 
THE DAIRY COW. 

Generally speaking, cattle may be classified as belonging to one 
of three types, viz.: beef, dual purpose and dairy. 

To the beef type belong those which are kept on farms solely 
for their value as beef producers. They are as a rule compact in 
form, having a broad back and a deep, wide body. They are not 
adapted for dairying inasmuch as they usually do not secrete more 
milk than is necessary to raise the calf. They have small udders 
and are not persistent in their flow of milk. There are, however, 
individual exceptions among most of these breeds that produce a 
fair amount of milk, but the tendency of the members of this type 
is to convert their food into beef rather than into milk. To this type 
belong the Shorthorns, Hereford, Aberdeen Angus, Galloway and 
Sussex cattle. 

To the dual purpose type belong those cattle that produce more 
milk than those of the beef type, and at the same time flesh up reason- 
ably well. They are usually less in width than the beef type and have 
larger udders. They are presumed to milk well and when "dry" 
to convert their food rapidly into beef. There are many arguments 
produced both in favor of such a type and against it. It is argued 
by some that such breeds are really necessary in certain sections of 
this country. This type is many a farmer's ideal ; but it is question- 
able whether or not such an ideal will ever be profitably realized. The 
Red Polled, Devon, and Brown Swiss cattle are the prominent breeds 
classed as dual purpose animals, though strictly speaking as individuals 
they tend either to produce milk or beef rather than both. Certain 
families of the Shorthorns are also included because they give a good 
quantity of high testing milk and at the same time are fair producers 
of beef. 

The dairy type includes such breeds as are not inclined to pro- 
duce beef. They necessarily have less breadth of back, and, unlike 
the beef breeds, fleshiness is not desired. Cows belonging to this 
type should have a tendency to produce milk and not to convert 
their food into beef. It is difficult to describe briefly the many 
desirable points which indicate a good dairy cow. Authorities usually 
agree that the ideal cow should have what is termed a "triple wedge" 
form. It must be noted, however, that occasionally there arc indi- 
viduals that do not conform to the ideal yet are good dairy cows. 
However, these are only exceptions. It is of the utmost importance 
that the dairy cow have ample room in her body for such organs as 

19 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 



the lungs, heart, digestive and maternal organs. This indicates a 
vigorous constitution which is necessary in order that she may be 
able to withstand the strain of continually producing large quantities 
of milk. This widening of the body towards the rear gives to her 
the "wedge form." Inasmuch as she is usually compared to a machine 
which converts food into milk, it is very essential that she have a large 
"barrel," which is an indication that she can consume a large supply 
of food for the manufacture of her milk. 




Drawing showing "triple wedge" form of a famous dairy cow. The wedge form as viewed from 
t he top over the shoulders is more pronounced than in the drawing from the rear view , shown at the left. 

The udder should be ample in size; it should have good form 
with four well shaped teats; it should be soft after milking and 
materially smaller than before milking. Meaty udders are very 
undesirable as they indicate a lack of capacity. Since the udder 
must be well supplied with arteries and veins in order to furnish 
the milk secreting cells with the food material from which they 
are to secrete milk, a good cow usually has large milk veins under- 
neath her belly. 

A great deal more might be said as to the desirable character- 
istics which a good dairy animal usually possesses, but it is sufficient 
to say here that the real test of her value as a dairy cow is her butter 
fat producing ability. This can only be learned by using a pair of 
scales to ascertain the amount of milk she produces, and a fat test 
to determine the richness of her milk. There are many cows that 

20 



PRO FITABLE DAIRYING 

give a good flow of milk, reasonably rich in fat, during the fore part of 
their period of lactation, yet cows of this kind may be very undesirable 
animals to keep, o^\^ng to the fact that they may not be persistent 
milkers. The value of the methods employed in determining the pro- 
ductive qualities of an individual cow are discussed in detail in a 
separate chapter in this work to which we respectfully refer the reader. 
It is unfortunate for the dairy industry that we do not find more 
pure bred stock in this coimtry. We believe that the farmer should 
raise pure bred stock because it is more profitable for him to do so 
rather than to raise "scrubs." It may cost a trifle more to begin 
with, but it will be money well invested if he intends to make dairying 
a paying business. In case he cannot begin with pure bred stock, 
it will be well for him to grade up his cattle as rapidly as possible 
by the use of a pure bred sire. Brief discussion of a few of the dis- 
tinctive dairy breeds, representatives of which are found in almost 
every community, follow. 




Loretta D. World famous champion Jersey cow at the St. Louis Exposition, 1904. This cow 
produced in 120 days 5,802.7 pounds milk testing 4. 82 per cent, or 2S0.1(J pounds butter fat. Weight 
1,075 pounds. Courtesy of F. H. Scribner. Rosendale. Wis. 

Jersey. — As the name indicates, this breed originally came from 
the Isle of Jersey, which is one of the small islands in the English 

.21 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 

Channel. Here the people bred their cattle along distinctive lines, 
with the result that they established a breed that has many able 
and enthusiastic supporters. The Jerseys are usually small cows, 
weighing from 650 to 1,000 pounds, averaging about 900 pounds each. 
They produce milk rich in fat testing 4.0 per cent and over. As a 
rule they are persistent milkers but usually do not produce large 
quantities of milk. This latter statement is sometimes used as an 
argument against them. These animals have some good records 
to sustain their claim as a worthy dairy breed. At the World's 
Columbian Exposition, held in Chicago in 1893, a ninety-day test 
was conducted in which twenty-live Jerseys took part. Several of 
these animals were sick, but in spite of this the milk produced amounted 
to thirty-three pounds a day for each cow. At the St. Louis Exposi- 
tion in 1904, twenty-five cows produced milk averaging forty-one 
and one-half pounds daily for ninety days. These are remarkable 
showings and speak well for this breed. Although at present small 
in stature, the time will doubtless come when breeders will be able 
to develop certain families of a larger frame and more vigorous con- 
stitution than the Jersey of the present time, and at the same time 
preserve in the families the desirable qualities posses^d by the Jersey 
cow of today. 

Holstein-Feiesian — It is not known just where the ancestors 
of this famous breed originated, but it is well known that Holstein- 
Friesians have been in Holland for hundreds of years, and that the 
breed is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, in existence. The indi- 
viduals have a large frame and weigh from 1,000 to 1,400 pounds. 
They are good feeders of roughage, and on account of this stand in 
favor with many farmers. The milk is not so rich as that of some 
other breeds, but what it lacks in quality is usually made up in 
quantity. 

The flow is, as a rule, exceedingly large and certain families of 
this breed produce milk testing 4.0 per cent and over. The greatest 
record of any cow for the aniount of milk produced was that of 
a Holstein-Friesian, viz., Pieterje Second. This remarkable animal 
produced 30,31 53^^ pounds of milk in one year. Cows of this breed 
have been reported as producing as much as 122^^ pounds of milk 
per day. At the St. Louis Fair in 1904, fifteen Holstein-Friesian 
cows were entered in competition with Jerseys and other breeds. 
They were milked for 120 days and averaged 53.4 pounds each day. 
Any good Holstein-Friesian cow will produce six or seven thousand 
pounds of milk each year, if she is given proper care and treatment. 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 




Colantha 4th's Johanna A world famous Holstein-Friesian cow who produced in one year 
27,432.5 pounds milk testing 3.64 per cent, yielding 998.25 pounds butter fat. Courtesy of the owner. 
W. J. Gillett, Rosendale, Wisconsin. 

Guernsey — This breed has become exceedingly popular within 
the last few years. Like the Jersey, they derive their name from 
the island on which they originated, which is another of the islands in 
the British Channel. Members of this breed have larger frames than 
the Jerseys. They also have more vigorous constitutions and average 
1,050 pounds in weight. They are good milkers and their milk is of 
a superior quality which tests well. This breed produces a butter 
fat which is distinctively yellow. In fact some of the butter produced 
from the milk of Guernsey cows and exhibited at a dairy convention 
was so yellow that it was believed by the judges to contain coloring 
matter. The butter was accordingly analyzed and found to be entirely 
free from such artificial ingredients. The milk from this breed is 
splendidly adapted for city milk trade on account of this rich yellow 
tinge so attractive to the customer. The milk of the Guernsey is not 
usually quite so rich in fat as that of the Jersey, but the quantity given 
is somewhat greater. At the Pan American Exposition the Jersey 
milk tested 4.82 per cent while the Guernsey milk tested 4.68 per cent . 

23 



PROFITABLE 


D A I R Y I N 


_G 




■ ■■•■.■r„.' 


■■■■\ 




Yeksa Sunbeam. One of the early champion Guernsey cows. She produced within one year 
14,920.8 pounds milk testing 5.74 per cent, or 857.15 pounds butter fat. This amount of fat would 
make more than 1,000 pounds of butter. Courtesy owner, Rietbrock Estate. 



It was at this exposition held at Buffalo that the ten-year-old 
Guernsey cow, Mary Marshall, produced 5,611 pounds of milk, 
yielding 301.13 pounds of butter fat in a test covering a period of 
six months. The performances of Yeksa Sunbeam and Dolly Bloom, 
both Guernsey cows, are explained in a note accompanying the illus- 
trations. 



r Ayrshire — These cows are found principally in New England 
and Eastern States and Canada. They originally came from Scot- 
land and possess a great deal of merit. Like the Holstein-Friesian 
they are as a rule persistent milkers. They are medium sized animals, 
weighing about 1000 pounds. The milk of this breed of cows is 
particularly adapted for cheese making, owing to the small size of its 
fat globules and its relatively large casein content. The milk tests 
usually from 3.5 to 4.0 per cent fat. At the Pan American Exposition 
the five Ayrshire cows ranked second in milk production, yielding 
55 pounds per cow for each day of the test. 

24 



P R FITABLE DAIRYING 




Typical Ayrshire cow. Xoticc the peculiar shape of the horns ami the cliaracterislic markings 
of this breed. 



Breed 


Pounds of 


Per Cent 


Pounds of 




Milk 


Fat 


Fat 


Holstein 


24612 


4,53 


1116.05 


Guernsey 


24008 


4.57 


1098.00 


Jersey 


17557 


5.69 


999 . 14 


Ayrshire 


23022 


3.99 


917.60 



THE WORLD'S CHAMPION COWS OF THE FOUR LEADING DAIRY 
BREEDS ON MAY 1. 1915, WITH YEARLY RECORDS. 

Name 

Finderne Hollinger Fayne 
Murne Cowan 
Sophie of Hood Farm 
Auchenbain Brown Kate 4th 

Dual Purpose Breeds — In addition to the above leading dairy 
herds, there have been developed milking strains of the so-called 
dual purpose breeds that give promise in the dairy world. Chief 
among these are the Brown Swiss, the Red Polled and the Milking 
Shorthorns. It is argued in support of these breeds that their calves 
will help to supply the market for "baby-beef" and that their carcasses 
are much more valuable to the butcher than those of the strictly 
dairy breeds. It is quite probable, however, that when these breeds 
have developed striking dairy qualities that their forms will also 
change so as to render them less valuable for meat production. 



25 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 



DAIRY CATTLE 



SCORE CARD 





Per- 
fect 
score 


'Points Deficient 


Points Deficient 


SCALE OF POINTS 


Student's 
score 


Cor- 
rected 


Student's 
score 


'Cor- 
rected 


INDICATION OF CAPACITY FOR FEED— 
25 POINTS 

Face, broad between the eyes and long; muzzle 
clean cut; mouth large; lips strong; lower jaws 












Body, wedge shape as viewed from front, side 
and top; ribs, long, far apart and well sprung; 
breast full and wide; flanks, deep and full .... 

Back, straight; chin, broad and open; loin 


10 
5 






i 
j 






j 


Hips and thurls, wide apart and high 










INDICATION OF DAIRY TEMPERAMENT— 
25 POINTS 
Head, clean cut and fine in contour; o\es, promi- 


3 
4 











Neck, thin, long, neatly joined to head and 
shoulders and free from throatiness and dewlap 












2 
4 

3 

3 
4 

1 
1 

3 
3 

15 
4 










Shoulders, lean, sloping, nicely laid up to body; 










Back, strong, prominent to tail head and open 
















































INDICATION OF WELL DEVELOPED MILK 
ORGANS -25 POINTS 

Rump, long, wide and level; pelvis roomy 


















Udder, large, pliable, extending well forward and 
high up behind; quarters, full, symmetrical. 








Teats, plumb, good size, symmetrical and well 
placed 











26 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 



SCOBE CARD— Continued. 





Per- 
fect 
score 


Points Deficient 


Points Deficient 


8CALE OF POINTS 


Student's 
score 


Cor- 
rected 


Student's 
score 


Cor- 
rected 


INDICATIONS OF STRONG CIRCULATORY 
SYSTEM, HEALTH, VIGOR AND MILK 
FLOW— 25 POINTS 


2 
3 
5 

7 

/ 
7 

1 






























Skin, pliable; hair, fine and straight; secretions. 










Veins, prominent on face and udder; mammary 
veins, large, long, crooked and branching; milk 










Escutcheon, wide and extending high up 


















Total 


100 



















♦GENERAL APPEARANCE— A dairy cow should weigh not less than 800 pounds, have 
large capacity for feed, a dairy temperament, well developed milk organs, fine quality and 
perfect health, and be capable of a large production of milk and butter fat. 



EXERCISES. 

1. Why should a dairy cow have a "big middle?" 

2. Why cannot an animal be a good beef and a good dairy cow 
at the same time? 

3. Does a "hea\y milker" often lay on flesh? Why? 

4. Why is it necessary to "dry off" a cow in order to fatten her? 

5. To what breed do your cows belong? 

6. Of what type are they? 

7. For your o\vn amusement select the three cows in your own 
herd which are of the best dairy type by comparison with the descrip- 
tion and pictures in this book. 



27 



PROF ITA BLE DAIRYING 

CHAPTER V. 

THE BABCOCK TEST. 

As has already been stated, the Babcock test is responsible for 
much of the progress in dairying during the past twenty-five years. 
Its operation is so simple, the principles upon which it is based are so 
easily understood, and its intelligent use by dairymen is of such 
great importance that it is deemed quite proper to give considerable 
space in this book to this test. 

It will be remembered that milk is composed of water, fat, curd, 
sugar and ash in varying proportions, and that the fat globules are 
simply floating or suspended in the milk serum. When these globules 
rise to the top naturally they drag the curd and other solids along 
with them and form a layer at the top, rich in fat, which we call cream. 
Before the invention of the Babcock test it was the practice in some 
places to collect samples of milk or cream, churn them and melt the 
lumps of butter in graduated tubes, from which the amount of fat 
could be estimated. The purpose of melting the churned butter was 
to collect the fat into a clear layer of oil. Sometimes several churn- 
ings and consequent rechurnings were necessary to make a clear test. 
This test, known as the churn test, was a slow% laborious, and some- 
what unreliable process. 

In the Babcock test the separation of butter fat from the other 
constituents is accomplished in a few minutes. The curd is dis- 
solved by a strong acid which will not act upon the fat. The fat 
globules are brought to the surface by whirling in a machine called 
a centrifuge. This layer of fat is brought up into the neck of the 
test bottles into which the samples of milk were placed at the begin- 
ning of the test, and the percentage of fat read directly from the 
neck of the test bottle. The entire test takes about ten to fifteen 
minutes of time, is thoroughly reliable, and can be made by anyone 
possessing ordinary intelligence. 

DETAILS OF THE TEST. 

1 . Preparation of the Sample : 

Great care is necessary in the preparation of the sample. If a 
herd is to be tested the entire milk of the whole herd must be thor- 
oughly mixed before a portion is taken for testing. This mixing 
is accomplished by pouring from one vessel to another, and the sample 
taken immediately before any of the fat globules have had time to 
rise. If the milk stands for a minute even after being mixed, the 
sample will not be accurate, so rapidly do the fat globules tend to 
come to the surface. 

•«8 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 

If a single cow is to be tested, she must first be milked perfectly 
dry, then all of her milk must be thoroughly mixed and a portion 
of this taken for testing. It is important to have all the cow's milk, 
as the fat content tends to increase during the process of milking, 
the strippings being much richer than the foremilk; often the fore- 
milk will test less than one per cent, and the strippings over ten per 
cent fat. For this reason the sample can never be milked into a separate 
vessel if accurate results are desired, but must be taken from the whole 
amount of milk and then only after a thorough stirring. 

If a small sample is to be tested this too must be thoroughly 
mixed before the final sample is taken in the pipette. If more than 
one test is to be made from the same sample the sample should be 
mixed each time before being drawn into the pipette. Thorough 
mixing is the most important part of sampling, and good sampling 
is one of the most important points to be observed in making a 
correct test. 

2. Filling the Test Bottle: 

When the sample has been thoroughly mixed the milk should be 
drawn into the pipette by suction with the mouth until it rises above 
the mark on the stem. The forefinger of the hand in which the pipette 
is held is then quickly placed on top of the pipette and the milk is 
allowed to run down to the mark where it is checked and held by 
the forefinger. The test bottle is taken in the other hand, slightly 
inclined, the filled pipette introduced in the neck, the finger is removed 
and the milk allowed to run down the side of the neck into the test 




By slowly releasing the pressure of the finger at the top of the pipette, the milk runs without 

infn tlip tp^i hnttip 



loss, into the test bottle 

29 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 

bottle. Great care should be used not to lose any of the sample; even 
if only a few drops are spilled the test is spoiled and another sample 
should be taken. 

3. Adding the Acid: 

Ordinary commercial sulphuric acid at a specific gravity of 1.82 
to 1.83 should be used. It may be purchased at any drug store for 
three or four cents per pound. A better place, however, to obtain 
the acid is from some creamery or cheese factory. These factories 
use large quantities of it and usually are glad to supply parties wanting 
small quantities. It is poisonous and must not be allowed to 
come in contact with the skin, hands, clothing or tin or iron vessels. 
If by accident any should be spilled, it should be washed off im- 
mediately, using plenty of water. An application of diluted ammonia 
is very beneficial in neutralizing the acid. 

In making the test the acid measure is filled to the mark with 
this acid, and the acid is poured down the inside of the neck of the 
test bottle in the same way in which the milk was introduced. It 
is important to let the acid run down the side of the bottle, and 
not drop it straight down through the milk, as this will burn the 
curd and cause the black particles of burned curd to rise into the fat 
and spoil the test. 

4. Mixing Milk and Acid: 

The milk and acid having been placed in the test bottle, are 
now mixed by taking the bottle by the neck and giving it a rotary 
motion. The acid immediately dissolves the curd, the bottle gets 
hot and the contents turn black. 

5. Whirling and Filling Bottles: 

The bottles are now placed in the machine and whirled for five 
minutes. They are then filled up to the bottom of the neck with hot 
water, using either the acid measure or the pipette for this purpose. 
If hard water is used the carbonates in it must be broken up by 
adding to it a few drops of acid before filling the bottles, otherwise the 
carbonates in the water may cause a foam to appear on the fat and 
spoil the reading. Only a few drops of acid should be used, and to 
prevent accident these should be dropped from the acid measure 
and not from the bottle. Great care is necessary in handling this acid. 

The bottles are whirled a second time for one or two minutes, the 
fat is then brought up into the neck by adding a few more drops of 
hot water, the bottles returned to the tester and whirled a third time 
for a minute or two, when they are taken out and placed in a water 
bath having a temperature of 120-140 degrees F. where the fat column 
should be submerged for four or live minutes. 

30 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 



6. . Reading the Fat: 

The fat column is read from its highest point to its lowest point 
while yet hot (130-145 degrees F.) and before it has had time to 
contract. If the fat should get cold it may be melted by placing the 
bottles in hot water well up to the neck. 




The dividers in the first position for reading the test. 



Th2 dividers in the second position. 



If both ends of the fat column are above the zero point, note 
the reading of these two points and take their differences. For 
example : If the lowest point of the fat is 1 .8 per cent and the highest 
is 5.6 per cent, then the per cent of fat is 5.6 — 1.8 or 3.8 per cent. 
A quicker way is to place a pair of dividers against the neck of the 
test bottle with the legs so spread that one of them rests on the highest 
point and the other on the lowest point of the fat and then move 
it down so that the lower leg rests at the zero point; the upper will 
rest at the correct reading of the fat. 

7. Emptying the Waste: 

The waste in the bottles should never be emptied into anything 
but earthen j'ars. This waste contains much strong acid, and should 

31 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 

be thrown where it cannot do injury to plants or animals. It is 
customary to place a board cover over an ordinary jar, and then bore 
holes about an inch in diameter through this cover. Through these 
holes the necks of the inverted test bottles are thrust and their con- 
tents allowed to drain into the waste jar. The jar is then emptied 
where its contents are not likely to cause injury, and washed out with 
hot water to remove the grease undestroyed by the acid. 

The importance of every dairyman owning a pair of scales and 
a Babcock tester is discussed in a later chapter of this work. More 
definite and detailed instructions for making the test are usually 
given with the apparatus sold by reliable dealers in dairy supplies. 

EXERCISES. 

1. Why are the milk bottles whirled at high speed in making a 
Babcock Test? 

2. What is the strong acid used for? 

3. Why should the milk be thoroughly mixed immediately 
before taking the sample? 

4. Do you know the "test" of each of your cows? 

5. If not, take samples of the milk of each and test according 
to directions given. Great care should be exercised in taking the 
sample. Follow directions very carefully. If you do not happen 
to have a tester ask your butter or cheesemaker to test the samples 
for you or allow you to use his tester. 

6. Can you give four reasons why the fat column in the neck of 
milk test bottle may be light in color or have curd underneath the 
fat column? 

7. Why do you read the extremes of the fat column from the 
bottom of the fat column to the bottom of the upper meniscus? 



32 



PROFITABLE DAIR YING 

CHAPTER VI. 
TESTING THE FARM HERD. 

No dairyman should keep a cow that produces less than 250 
pounds of butter fat annually, and an average of a pound a day for 
300 days of the year is not too high a standard. Whole herds have 
frequently been found which produce even more than that. 

In a single month Colantha 4th's Johanna produced 110.83 pounds 
of butter fat, a larger amount than is produced in a whole year by 
so-called "dairy cows" in many herds. In all the numerous "official" 
tests that have been made in Wisconsin during the past few years, 
very few of the cows have been found to fall below the 300 pound 
mark, and the majority of them exceed 400 pounds of butter fat 
annually. 




Pogis 99th of Hood Farm, Champion Jersey Bull, Courtesy Hood Farm, Lowell, Mass. 



33 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 

Adopting 300 pounds of butter fat as a standard which the dairyman 
may reasonably expect his cows to attain, let us see what such a cow 
is worth to him. It is well known that the amount of butter made 
from a given quantity of butter fat exceeds the weight of fat by about 
one-sixth. This is because of the water, curd and salt, which are 
normal constituents of butter, and which, added to the fat, increase 
its weight. Three hundred pounds of fat, then, will make one-sixth 
more butter, or 350 pounds of butter. During the past five years 
good creamery butter has averaged about twenty-seven cents per 
pound the year round. The cow that has returned to the farmer 350 
pounds of good butter has brought him $95.00, a pretty neat sum. 
And here, too many let the calculation stop. Herein lies the error. 




Shadybrook Gerbcn. Leading Holstein-Friesian cow at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, 
St. Louis, 1904. In 120 days she produced 8,101.7 pounds of milk testing 3.48 per cent, or 282.0 
pounds butter fat. Notice the wedge shaped form and the unusually large udder of this remarkable 
cow. Weight, 1,319 pounds. Courtesy owner, M. E, Moore, Cameron, Missouri. 



Though she has returned him this amount, he must not forget that 
she has cost him something in feed and care. During this same period 
this cost has not been far from $50.00 per year in the north central 
states. Deducting this from the amount received for the butter 
leaves a nice little profit of $45.00. Neither must it be forgotten that 
in addition to this there is the skim milk which has been fed to the 

34 



PROFITABLE DAIR YING 

pigs and calves, from which additional profit has been secured. Nor 
should we forget that she has eaten hay and grain raised on the farm, 
and the fertility in the manure has probably found its way back to 
the soil. 

Let us suppose another case. Instead of producing fat for 350 
pounds of butter let us see what would have been the result had 
she produced sufi&cient fat for 200 pounds of butter only. This 
butter at the same rate would have brought $54.00, and the farmer's 
profit would have been but $4.00, or less than one-eleventh as much 
as that of the first cow. In other words, the first cow is worth more 
to the dairyman than eleven of the second. 

Looking at it from still another point of view. Suppose another 
cow can produce but 150 pounds of butter annually, what is she 
worth? Let us see. At twenty-seven cents per pomid this amount of 
butter is worth $40.50, or $9.50 less than it costs to keep the cow that 
produced it. 

Where dairying has been tried and abandoned as unprofitable, 
in nine cases out of ten it has been because the farmer kept just 
this kind of cows. How necessary then that he should know just what 
each member of his herd is worth to him. He can know this if he 
is willing to spend the time and effort necessary to weigh and test 
the milk of each cow in his herd. 

The test is made in the following manner: A bottle holding about 
a pint is labeled, showing the name and number of the cow, and into 
this bottle is placed a piece of bichromate of potassium the size of a 
pea. This chemical is a cheap preservative which can be purchased 
at any drug store and keeps the sample from souring. 

Before the milk is sampled it is thoroughly mixed as stated under 
directions for sampling already given in the chapter on the Babcock 
Test, and a few tablespoonfuls of this milk is placed in the bottle. 
This sampling is repeated at each successive milking and the sample 
for testing is taken from this composite sample. In this way a 
single test will answer for each cow. If the cream in the sample 
gets thick or churns, it may be easily mixed up again with the milk 
if the sample bottle is first placed in warm water. In making a 
composite test, the same care should be exercised in mixing the sample 
as is necessary in all testing with the Babcock test. 

By taking composite samples of the milk from each cow in the 
herd, testing them weekly and keeping an accurate record of these 
tests and of the weight of milk given by each cow every day of her 
milking period, the dairyman may ascertain for himself exactly 

35 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 

what each cow is worth to him. This is the best and only reliable 
method, and the one followed at most well regulated dairies. Of 
course, it takes time, but it pays in the long run. 

Fairly accurate results may be obtained, however, by weighing 
and testing one day in each week during the whole period of lacta- 
tion, multiplying the weight by 7 to get the amount given by each 
cow. Another practical method is to take weights and composite 




Dolly Bloom. Noted Guernsey cow. Made a record of 17,297.5 pounds milk in one year, testing 
4.87 per cent, yielding 836.2 pounds butter fat. Notice the characteristic Guernsey markings and the 
well formed udder. Courtesy owner, Langwater Farms, North Easton, Massachusetts. 

samples for six consecutive days each month during the whole period 
of lactation, and multiplying these weights by 5 to get the weight of 
milk given by each cow during each particular month of her milking 
period. 

36 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 

Too many farmers make a single weight and test of the milk of 
their several cows and then let the matter drop. This is a serious 
mistake, as it teaches next to nothing, and the only way that the 
dairyman may know exactly what each of his cows is worth to him 
is by testing frequently, weighing every day in the year and multi- 
plying the total weight by the average test to get the weight of butter 
fat. There are shorter methods requiring less time, but they are 
all open to one objection — inaccuracy — and are not recommended. 

The simplest and easiest of these methods is to weigh and test 
the milk of each cow for six days during the fifth month of her milking 
period. It has been shown by experiment that the fat production 
for the fifth month represents to a considerable degree the average 
production for the ten months that a cow is in milk. If this be true 
then this weight multiplied by five will give the average weight pro- 
duced monthly, and this monthly average multiplied by ten will give 




Finderne Pride Johanna Rue No. 1210S3. Typical Holstein Cow. World's Champion 
August 1, 1915. 

Pounds of Milk Pounds of Butter Days 

692.7 36.87 7 

2437.7 147.04 30 

28.403.7 1470.68 365 
Courtesy of Somerset Holstein Breeders Co., Somerville, N. Y. 

the total amount of milk produced in ten months, the number of 
months every good dairy cow should give milk during the year. ^This 

37 



PROFITA BLE DAIRYING 

total amount of milk multiplied by the test will give the yield of fat, 
to which one-sixth is added to find the butter yield. This method is 
rapid and fairly accurate. One example to illustrate: Suppose 
a cow is found to give 100 pounds of milk in six days during the fifth 
month of lactation. Then 100x5x10=^5000 pounds of milk annually. 
The test is 4.2 per cent. Then 5000x4.2 per cent=210 pounds butter 
fat; 1-6 of 210 is 35; then 210-1-35=245, or this cow produces approxi- 
mately 245 pounds of butter annually. 

Every good dairyman should know about what each cow in his 
herd is producing and send to the slaughter house all cows that are 
not yielding him a profit. The only way for him to learn this is 
by weighing and testing the milk from each cow in some such manner 
as has been outlined herein, preferably for every day of the time that 
the cow is in milk during the year. It should also be added that he 
should take into account the amount of feed consumed by each cow. It 
is not always the largest fat producers that are the most profitable cows, 
but the ones that produce the largest amount of fat at the least cost. 




Banostine Belle De Kol. 



Length of 

Record 

365 Days, 



OFFICIAL RECORD. 

Pounds of Per Cent 

AlUk Fat 

.. 27404.4 3.86 



38 



Pounds of 

Butter-fat 

1058.34 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 



Below is given the record of a single cow in a herd belonging to a 
cow testing association organized and conducted by the County 
School of Agriculture, Racine, Wisconsin. The record is taken from 
the books of the association. 

RECORD OF COW NO. 5. 
Freshened November 1, 1912. 
Milk 

December 954 

January 784 

February 638 

March 725 

April 766 

May 623 

June 762 

July 254 

August Dry. 

September 834 

October 834 

November 858 



Pounds 


Value 


Cost of 


1912-13 


B. F. 


B. F. 


Feed 


Net Returns 


.38.1 


$ 13,18 


$ 6.06 


$ 7.12 


31.3 


14.06 


6.06 


8.00 


26.8 


11.39 


5.47 


5.92 


29.7 


11.88 


6.99 


4.89 


34.5 


13.45 


6.76 


6.69 


28. 


9.24 


3.78 


5.46 


40.4 


12.52 


2.00 


10.52 


19. 


5.13 


2.00 


3.13 






2.00 


—2.00 


31.7 


13.63 


2.00 


11.63 


31.7 


13.63 


2.00 


11.63 


28.3 


13.58 


4.08 


9.50 



8032 339.5 $131.69 $49.20 $82.49 

The following shows the record of all the herds belonging to the 
association : 

CLASSIFICATION OF HERDS. 
Butter Fat Basis— 1913. 

Number Av. Lbs Av. Av. Lbs. Highest Lowest 

Rank Owner Cows Milk Test Butter Fat Producer Producer 

1 P. D. 12 7901 3.86% 305. 376,3 229.7 

2 C. B. M 18 8376 3.53 296. 332.9 183. 

3 H. H 13 8041 3.65 293.3 344.1 214.7 

4 W. H. A 15 6561 4.38 287.7 393.5 124.7 

5 A. R 28 7753 3.62 280.7 426.8 110.6 

6 P. W 16 5815 4.68 280.5 446.3 188.7 

7 C. B 8 8317 3.28 273.4 367.9 229.7 

8 G. E 18 7627 3.53 272.6 371.2 204.8 

9 S. P 6 6452 3.87 261.5 339.5 197.5 

10 B. F. S 13 6213 4.20 261.1 294.3 114. 

11 F.A.S 17 6772 3.6 243.9 312. 105.3 

12 C. A. F 11 5881 3.96 233.3 281.7 177.5 

13 J.J S ... 8 4964 4.60 228.4 344.9 158.5 

14 H C ... 7 6339 3.55 226.4 274.5 184.5 

15 A. G. S .... 22 6288 3.53 222.1 .366.8 166.6 

16 R V 18 5405 3.83 206. 289.8 146.3 

17 H. B .... 24 5007 3.64 182.3 238.6 120.9 

18 A 10 4337 3.68 160. 280.4 44. 

Total 264 

Average of Association 6924 3.78 261 .7 

Average cost of feed $48.79 

Average profit 52 . 14 

39 



PROFITABLE DAI RYING 

A study of the table below will show the reasons for good herds. 
COWS PRODUCING 
Rank Owner Less 100 to 200 to 250 to 300 to 350 to 400 to Total 
150 lbs. 250 lbs. 250 lbs. 300 lbs. 350 lbs. 400 lbs. 450 lbs. 



C. D. O. 
C. B. M. 
H. 



1 



A. 

R. 

W. 

B. 

E. 

P. 

S. 

F. S. 

F. 

S. 

14 C. 

15 A. S. 

16 V. 

17 H. 

18 A. 



9 

5 

16 

3 



5 
7 
5 
1 
6 
6 
10 
4 
4 



12 

18 

13 

15 

28 

16 

8 

18 

6 

13 

17 

11 

8 

7 

22 

18 

24 

10 



Totals, 15 



Cow 

3 
4 
5 
6 

8 
9 



Milk 

5787 
7489 
8032 
4997 
7837 
4572 



55 78 63 36 13 

RECORD OF HERD No. 8. 
Pounds 
Butter Fat Value B. F. Cost Feed 



265.4 
270.2 
339.5 
198.4 
298.7 
197.5 



$104.38 

107.49 

131.69 

72.94 

116.74 

76.60 



$49.20 
49.20 
49.20 
47.52 
49.20 
36.06 



264 



Returns 
B. F.— C. F. 
$55.18 
58.29 
82.49 
25.42 
67.54 



40.54 



6452 



261.6 



101.64 



46.73 



54.91 



Av. 

Without No. 9. 

6828 274.4 106.65 48.86 57.79 

Increase 

376 12.8 5.01 2.13 2.88 

EXERCISES. 

1. From the data given in the record of cow No. 5 calculate the 
fat test for each month. 

2. Using same data determine the price allowed for each potmd 
of butter fat for each month. 

3. Using the price per pound of butter fat just obtained calculate 
the total returns from each herd in the association. 

4. At the average cost of feed per cow given at the bottom of 
the table what is the net profit made by each herd? 

5. The average net profit per cow in each herd? 

6. Do you know the profit over cost of feed of your own herd? 

7. By use of one of the methods described in the last chapter 
determine this for the home herd. 

40 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 

CHAPTER VII. 
CREAM SEPARATION. 

There, are three methods of cream separation in common use, 
viz., gravity, dilution and centrifugal. Of these three, gravity is 
the oldest and until very recent years the most widely used method. 
It consists simply in setting the milk in cans or pans and allowing 
the fat to rise to the top, it being forced up by gravity because it is 
so much lighter than the milk serum. In the dilution process cold 
or warm water is poured directly into the milk on the theory that it 
will make the milk thinner and allow the fat globules to rise to the top 
more easily. In the centrifugal process the fat is separated from 
the milk by centrifugal force, that force which causes the mud to 
fly from a rapidly revolving wagon wheel or the water from a grind- 
stone. In this process the milk is run into a rapidly revolving bowl 
and the heavier part of the milk which is the skim milk is crowded 
to the outside and the lighter portion which is the cream is forced 
toward the center. Each portion is crowded out through little holes 
into spouts provided for the purpose of carrying them into their 
respective vessels. Of these three methods centrifugal separation 
is by far the most eflScient. 

One of the reasons why dairying, before the invention of the 
Babcock test and the centrifugal separator, was unprofitable is 
because of the large losses of butter fat in the skim milk when separated 
by the gravity process. No matter how careful the dairyman may 
be to secure a proper temperature — the one most favorable to good 
separation by the gravity process — the skim milk losses are very 
heavy. 

With the shallow pan method the losses vary with the condi- 
tions to which the milk is subjected. However, the skim milk 
with this method of separation will rarely test less than five-tenths 
of one per cent. The deep setting method of cream separation was 
the best devised up to the time of the introduction of the centrifugal 
separator. In this method the milk after milking was immediately 
placed into long cylindrical cans, commonly called "shot-gun" cans. 
These were placed in cold water, preferably ice water. With this 
method the losses in the skim milk were reduced to about two-tenths 
of one per cent. However, if the setting of the milk was delayed or 
the water was not cold, the increase in the loss of fat in the skim milk 
was much greater. 

Dilution methods of separation are likewise to be condemned as 
extravagant and wasteful. 

41 



PROF ITABLE DAIRYING 

A few years ago dilution methods and appliances were on the 
"boom," but fortunately this "boom" was of short duration. Cor- 
nell and many of the other experiment stations investigated the 
dilution methods and compared them with the old fashioned gravity 
methods. The average fat content of the skim milk by the dilution 
process was found to be three-fourths of one per cent when set at 
60 degrees F. This is about one-fifth of the entire fat content of 
the whole milk. At the Kansas station still greater losses were 
found to exist, the average being one per cent or equal to that sep- 
arated by the gravity process. 

The Indiana Experiment Station, after exhaustive experiments, 
published in a recent bulletin a summary of their findings showing 
the losses in the skim milk under the most favorable conditions by 
the various methods to be as follows: 



Hand separator method 02 per cent 

Deep setting method 17 per cent 

Shallow pan method 44 per cent 

Water dikition method 68 per cent 



The following table shows the amount of fat lost in the skim milk 
under average conditions. 

Water Shallow Deep Hand 

No. Cows Lbs. Milk Dilution Pan Setting Separator 

Lbs. fat Lbs. fat Lbs. fat Lbs. fat 

1 6000 29.07 25.5 17.34 2.75 

5 30000 145.35 127.5 86.70 13.75 

10 60000 290.70 255.0 173.40 27.50 

15 90000 436.05 382.5 260.10 41.25 

20 120000 581.40 510.0 346.80 55.00 

Take a lead pencil and compute the loss at the low rate of 25 cents 
per pound fat. 

The bulletin referred to graphically shows the butter lost in the 
skim milk from one cow in one year. 



42 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 




Hand Separator. 
Loss of Butter j 
1.2 lbs. 



Deep Setting. 

Loss of Butter 

10. 1 lbs. 



Shallow Pan. 

Loss of Butter 

26. 2 lbs. 



Water Dilution. 

Loss of Butter 

40.5 lbs. 



EXERCISES. 

1. What effect on the feeding value of the skim milk will the 
dilution method of cream separation have? 

2. Will Jersey milk separate by the gravity method better than 
Holstein milk? Why? 

3. Will the milk of one breed separate better with a centrifugal 
separator than the milk of another breed? 

4. What would be the loss in the fat of the skim milk from a herd 
of ten cows by each of the methods described in this chapter, assuming 
butter to be worth thirty cents a pound? 

5. What method of separation is used on your farm? 

6. Do you test your whole milk? Your skim milk? 

7. Do you know whether you are losing fat in your skim milk or 
not and how much? 



43 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 

CHAPTER VIII. 

THE FARM SEPARATOR, n 

When separators were first introduced they were built for factory 
purposes. They were large machines capable of separating the cream 
from two or three thousand pounds of milk per hour. The cost and 
the inconvenience of gathering the milk at the "whole milk" 
creameries was in very many cases so great that most of them have 
been forced to abandon their power separators. At the present time 
we find very few creameries still receiving whole milk. Instead 
small hand separators have such decided advantages that in sections 
of the country where dairying is carried on extensively, they are found 
on practically every farm, even though the farmer may have only a 
very few cows. 

Hence a word about the principles upon which their operation 
is based and some general directions for their care and use may not 
be out of place here. 

As was stated in the preceding chapter, their operation depends 
on centrifugal force. The old-fashioned "sling-shot" serves to 
illustrate this principle. In this plaything a stone is placed in a 
little hole cut in a piece of leather to which are attached two strings. 
The "shot" is then whirled rapidly around the head and one of the 
strings suddenly loosened, when the stone flies off in a straight line. 
The boy who is able to whirl his sling-shot with the greatest speed 
succeeds in throwing his stone the farthest, that is, he gives to it the 
greatest force. Now, in the cream separator the builders have figured 
out just how rapidly the bowls must rotate in order to throw all the 
skim milk to the outside and force the fat globules to the center. The 
separator must, therefore, be kept up to this calculated speed if the 
separation is to be complete. This speed is usually plainly marked 
on the machine and the operator should see to it that the indicated 
speed is maintained. 

Another condition which affects the completeness of the sepa- 
ration is temperature. The best machines will not do close work 
on cold milk. The most favorable temperature for the farmer to 
use is from 90 degrees F. to 100 degrees F., or the temperature of 
milk when it is first drawn from the cow. In no case should the 
milk be allowed to cool or the cream to rise before separation. If 
the milk is cold the fat losses are large and the machine is easily 
clogged. If the cream has risen it may be churned in the machine 
and the small granules of butter will be lost. It is a good practice 

44 



PROFITABLE D A I R Y I N G 

to run a quart of warm water through the machine to warm it up 
before the milk is put into it. 

A third point that should be observed if satisfactory results are 
to be obtained is the uniformity with which the milk is introduced 
into the bowl. An even feed will do much to ensure an even cream 
test, all other conditions remaining the same. 

To secure the best results and the cleanest and most nearly 
perfect cream, it is best to wash the separator each time after it is 
used. The slime should be removed, and the parts thoroughly 
scalded to destroy the germs which are certain to be present. These 
germs are found in large quantities in the bowl and if not destroyed 
by heat may cause serious damage to the cream. The separator 
should be washed twice daily and it should be thoroughly scalded 
and dried in the sun. Heat and sunlight are death to germ life. 

All bearings should be kept thoroughly oiled with the best sepa- 
rator oil. It is poor economy indeed to spoil a good machine by 
using poor oil. Some separators that are still doing good work have 
been known to be in constant use for fifteen years. This is because 
the machines have been well cared for. 

EXERCISES. 

1. Why can milk be separated at a temperature of 80° to 90° F. 
with less loss in the skim milk than when it is separated at 60° to 70°F.? 

2. Why wash the dishes in the home after each meal and wash a 
farm separator only once a day? 

3. Why should the separator parts be left to air in the sun? 

4. Why is it important to maintain the proper speed when 
separating milk? 

5. What is the difference in composition between milk and cream? 

6. What is the legal standard in your state for cream, milk, 
skim milk? 



45 



P^ R O JF I T A^ J^ E D^A^I__R Y I N G 

CHAPTER IX. 
VALUE OF SKIM MILK. 

When the milk is separated from the cream, either at the farm 
or at the factory, the farmer has, as a by-product of dairying, a 
quantity of skim milk which is one of the very best of feeds for calves, 
pigs and even chickens, ducks and geese. In some localities there is 
a strong prejudice against the introduction of the centrifugal separator 
on the ground that the skim milk is spoiled for feed. This prejudice 
is wholly unfounded and clearly disproven by the experience of both 
dairymen and investigators. In the first place none of the food 
substances are removed from the milk but the fat, and this fat can 
easily be supplied by a much cheaper substitute. Butter fat is worth, 
say, 30 cents per pound. Two or three cents' worth of oil meal will 
furnish as much food matter as a pound of butter fat. Then all that 
the dairyman has to do is to add a few pounds of oil meal to each one 
hundred pounds of skim milk and its feeding value is just as great as 
new or whole milk. When the milk is separated on the farm this 
skim milk may be fed warm and sweet soon after it is drawn from the 
cow, and if oil meal, bran, middlings, gluten feed, or some other cheap 
feed rich in oil and protein is added to it in proper proportions, it is 
fully the equal of whole milk as a feeding stuff. Experiments Math 
hand fed calves carried on at the Kansas Experiment Station have 
conclusively demonstrated this fact. Good "baby beef" was made 
with separator skim milk as a foundation feed, and the calves so 
fed made greater gains at a less cost than those fed on whole milk. 
The same results were obtained at the Iowa station. 

The Nebraska and Missouri station records show similar results, 
and, if further confirmation is needed, one has only to glance at 
the composition of milk to know that there are over nine pounds of 
the very best food solids, all easily digestible, left in every hundred 
pounds of milk after the fat has been removed. 

Skim milk is especially valuable in hog raising, and it should 
form the basis of food for these animals on every dairy farm. Some 
farmers believe that the best and cheapest pork is made from corn 
alone with nothing but water to drink. Here again experimenters 
have proven that this is not the case. On the contrary, pork pro- 
duced from this diet is much more expensive than that produced 
from any kind of mixed feeds. But the largest profit in hog raising 
comes from young pork six or seven months old. The first one 
hundred pounds of pork is always the cheapest to produce, the second 
hundred pounds is a little more costly, and so on until after the hog 

46 



PROF ITA BLE DAIRYING 

is a year old and has been well fed up to this time, the feed necessary 
to produce a pound of pork is actually worth more than the pork 
produced. The farmer, then, makes the most money on pig-pork, 
and pig-pork cannot be produced to advantage without milk. Skim 
milk mixed with ground corn, ground oats, bran, oil meal, middlings, 
or gluten feed, and supplemented during the fattening period with 
a liberal allowance of corn, makes the very best and cheapest pork. 

The following is an extract from an address given by former 
Governor Hoard, one of the great pioneers in dairying: 

"Put this statement to the fore: That for the past ten years 
no milk shipper or condensory has paid for milk what the cream is 
worth at the creamery for butter making, and the skim milk is worth 
on the farm in the raising of good live stock. That any farmer if 
he will be intelligent can in a ten year trial make more clean money 
by keeping the skim milk on the farm, raising well-bred heifers and 
cows for sale, than in any other form of dairying. If the creamery 
does not see what it has to do with this problem, then it is not big 
enough for its place. Stop fighting the farm separator and go to 
work to teach the farmer better how to deal with the milk and cream 
at the farm end. Remember that the farm separator and calf and 
pig raising is the main defense of the creamery against the competition 
of milk shipping and condensing. 

Now a word, if you please, as to the real money value of good 
skim milk for calf and pig raising. Of course, much depends on 
the kind of calves and pigs one raises and so does the price you get 
for butter depend on the kind of butter you make and sell. 

Here is an experiment of my own calf raising. I took ten grade 
Guernsey heifer calves, such as any ordinary farmer can produce, 
part of them bought right after birth of neighbors. I kept them till 
they were ten months old and sold them for $25 apiece. That is 
not a big price for fine heifer calves of desirable blood. I fed each of 
those calves a dollar's worth of oats; alfalfa hay to the amount of 
$1.50 and 50 cents worth of blood meal. That made $3.00. I allowed 
$3.00 for the carcass. That made a total of $6.00, leaving $19.00 
to be credited to the 3,000 pounds of skim milk each consumed. 
Understand, I charged the calf with the market value of the other 
food it consumed; the balance went to the skim milk because it was 
the skim milk that made all the rest available. Figuring that way 
the skim milk returned 63 cents a hundred. The butter fat in the 
milk averaged at that time, if I remember correctly, $1.50 per 100 
pounds of milk. That made the whole milk worth in cash to me 
$2.13 per hundred pounds. Do you wonder that I say no milk shipper 

47 



PROFITABLE D^A I R Y I N G 

or condensory would pay me what my milk is worth even in raising 
nothing better than grade heifer calves? The skim milk is worth 
over 13.00 a hundred when fed to pure bred calves. 

Take it in pig feeding: It is well established that 100 pounds 
of skim milk will make five pounds of growth when fed alone to pigs 
weighing from 75 to 150 pounds. Multiply this growth by the price 
of pork and you have the minimum value of the skim milk. Feed 
it in conjunction with corn meal and you add 20% to its value or 
cash return, all as a result of the combination. These are well settled 
principles of feeding. Yet, how few farmers really and truly know 
and practice them." 

EXERCISES. 

1. According to the standards given what is the value of skim 
milk in your vicinity? 

2. Can you feed sour milk to calves? 

3. What causes milk to sour? 

4. What is "baby beef?" What do we mean by the term "milk 
fed" chickens? 

5. Do farmers as a rule raise their own cows in a "condensary" 
community? 



48 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 

CHAPTER X. 
THE BARN. 

There are two buildings that the dairy farmer cannot well get 
along without. A good, clean, well ventilated barn in which to 
house his herd, and one or more silos in which to store a supply of 
palatable green food for the winter months. 

But little need be said about the construction of the barn. The 
careful farmer will adapt the barn to the size of the farm, the number 
of cows kept thereon, the kind of grain and roughage stored for food, 
and other local conditions. He will undoubtedly be able to draw 
his own plans, or to secure some one to design a barn for him that will 
suit his own special needs better than any plan which can be sug- 
gested here. But there is one feature of barn construction so greatly 
neglected that it deserves to be mentioned in every treatise on dairy 
farming. This important feature is ventilation. 

In our efforts to provide warm and comfortable quarters for our 
stock we have overlooked, in many cases, the most important matter 
of all — proper ventilation. As we enter some stables on a winter's 
morning, after the bam has been closed all night, we are almost 
stifled by the gdors and impurities which fill the air. These must 
necessarily be very harmful to the animals that are forced to breathe 
them over and over again. In such stables no provision is made for 
admitting fresh air or for withdrawing that which has become charged 
with impurities and robbed of its life-giving oxygen. Oxygen is the 
one air element absolutely necessary to all animal life. We ourselves 
know only too well the debilitating effect of breathing bad air. The 
respiratory organs of animals are very similar to our own and they 
too must sufi'er from the bad effects of breathing impure air. Without 
doubt the alarming prevalence of tuberculosis a-mong dairy cattle 
is largely due to this- cause. Hence this neglected feature of barn 
construction is deemed worthy of detailed mention in this book. 

In a well ventilated bam the air is almost as pure and fresh and 
as free from bad odors as it is in the most sanitary home. The most 
successful and most widely used method of ventilation in this bam 
is known as the King system. It is so perfect in its operation, so 
inexpensive, and so easy to install that no up-to-date dairy barn 
should be built without this or a similar system of ventilation. , 

In this system air is taken in on the outside of the bam near the, 
ground, passes up through an air space in the walls made in the form 
of a wooden box, and is admitted into the barn near the ceiling. This 
method of admitting the air prevents, draughts and forces the bad 
air to the floor, where it is drawn out through ventilating flues that 

49 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 




Drawing showing two methods of drawing off the bad air from the dairy barn. In the figure at 
the right the best method of admitting fresh air is shown. 




Interior view of a modern, sanitary dairy bam where certified milk is produced. Notice the 
cement floors and the boards placed on the cement for the cows to lie on. 

50 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 




A method for tying cows; used frequently in up-to-date barns. 




Shoeing splendid exterior of barn with twin stave silos. 

extend from one foot of the floor to above the roof of the barn. It is 
important that these flues reach nearly to the floor, otherwise the 
warm air of the barn which is to be fomid near the ceiling, and not 
the bad air, which is to be found near the floor, will be drawTi off". 

51 



PROFITABLE DAIR YING 

These ventilating flues may be made from wood or from galvanized 
iron, tin or sheet iron pipe. A single flue 2x2 feet, inside measure, 
is said to be sufficient for twenty cows. The intake flues should be 
of the same capacity. In stone walls these are usually made of tile. If 
two or more smaller flues are used, which in the judgment of the writer 
is to be preferred, their combined capacity should be the same as that 
of the larger flue. If more than twenty cows are to be stabled the 
size of the ventilating flues should be increased proportionately. 

This system was designed by the late Professor King (hence its 
name) and has found widespread adoption. 

Fresh air is necessary to the health of the stock. So, too, is 
light. It is well known that sunlight will destroy germ life. The 
dairyman while providing proper ventilation should also provide 
for admitting an abundance of sunlight into his barn. Fresh air 
and plenty of sunlight are the surest means of preventing germ diseases 
in the dairy herd. 

EXERCISES. 

1. Why is fresh air admitted into a barn near the ceiling? Why 
not open a window? 

2. Why does the outlet flue extend to within one foot of the floor? 

3. Why not admit fresh air under the door and draw off bad air 
from the ceiling? 

,4. Why not use the hay chutes for ventilating flues? Should 
hay chutes be open or closed while cattle are in the barn ? 

5. What provision do you have for ventilation in the home barn? 

6. Would it be possible to install a ventilating system in your 
barn? If so, how? 



52 



PROFITABLE DAI RYING 

CHAPTER XI. 

THE SILO. 

The silo is the one farm building that needs the most careful con - 
struction. The importance of silage as a feeding stuff is growing 
more apparent as dairying advances. Nature has provided in 
summer proper food for most farm animals, and the nearer summer 



\ 

* 

.a 




t^S*^*-^ .'^ 


^^^H^^if^' 





New Type of Tile Silo. 

conditions can be maintained throughout the year the greater will 
be the farmer's success. Hence the importance of silage as a feeding 
stuff. It is a green feed preserved in its natural condition, or nearly 
so, for winter feeding. As soon as the pasture gets short in the fall 

53 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 

the silo may be opened and feeding of ensilage begun. In this way 
there need be little if any dimimution in the flow of milk. 

But the silage will not keep well in a poorly constructed silo. 
Whatever the type of silo the farmer chooses to build, four things 
must be observed: It must be strong, as nearly air tight as pos- 
sible, perfectly smooth on the inside, and placed on a strong, solid 
foundation. 




Stone Silo. 



The silo must be almost air tight because the air contains germs 
that will set to work upon the silage and cause it to spoil and decay 
if the air is not excluded. Silage is something like canned fruit in 
this respect. The silo must be strong because the green feed with 
which it is filled is very heavy and packs down very solidly. This 
exerts a tremendous pressure which will spring or burst the walls 

54 



PROFITA BLE DAIRYING 

of a poorly constructed silo and admit the air, causing the silage to 
spoil. It should be perfectly smooth on the inside because the silage 
should settle evenly. Projections or rough places on the inner walls 
of a silo will prevent the even settling and cause dead air spaces which 
will spoil the silage. It must rest on a strong, solid foundation 
because the side pressure and weight at the bottom are very great. 
This pressure may be so great as to burst a heavy stone wall, and the 
great weight will cause a silo placed on a poor foundation to settle 
out of shape and crack the walls. 

If this building is so constructed as to provide for sufficient 
ventilation and to prevent freezing, and proper care is used in filling 
the silo, the silage will be foimd to be one of the most satisfactory 
feeds for dairy cows, especially when winter dairying is carried on. 

There are five types of silos in common use, wood, brick, tile, 
stone and cement, but they are all built on the same general plan. 
A hole four or five feet deep is dug in the ground. The bottom 
of this hole is covered with a layer of concrete and cement and the 
sides walled up for a foot or two above the top with a hea\y stone 
wall, at least two feet thick. On top of this wall the silo is built 
in two thicknesses of whatever material is used, with a dead air space 
between. The filling doors open to the outside, and the feeding 
doors open into the barn. A ventilator is placed on top, and the 
walls are strengthened with hoops, rods or iron bands. In warmer 
climates where there is slight danger from frost, another type known 
as the stave silo is used. This is very much like a large barrel, and 
the cost of building such a silo is considerably less than the double 
wall type. 

EXERCISES. 

1. Why should the hoops or reinforcing rods be closer together 
near the bottom of the silo than near the top? 

2. Can silage be stored in a "square" silo? 

3. Why not build a "square" instead of a "round" silo. 

5. Why is a hollow wall silo to be preferred over one of solid 
concrete? 

6. What kind of silo do you have on the home farm? 

7. What kind of silo would be best for you to build? Give 
reasons for your choice. 

8. How many silos are there within five miles of your home? 



55 



PR,QFITABLE DAIRYING 

CHAPTER XII. 

FEED FOR THE COW. 

The cow may be compared to a machine. When we stop to 
consider that the real purpose of the cow from the dairyman's stand- 
point is to produce milk, in the same way that the purpose of a 
machine is to produce some given article, we are justified in making 
the comparison. We give the cow a certain quantity of food and 
from this we expect her to maintain herself and at the same time 
convert a good share of the food into milk. Good dairymen realize 
that the profit comes from the excess of food that she consumes over 
and above that required for her bodily maintenance. 

Investigators have found that the daily maintenance ration of 
a cow weighing about 1,000 pounds is: .7 pounds digestible protein, 
8.0 pounds digestible carbohydrates, and 0.1 pound ether extract. 

Granting that the above is true we can easily see that a dairy- 
man, in order to get profit from his herd, must give each cow more 
than the above maintenance ration before he can expect her to return 
a profit to him. It would be a foolish engineer that would only turn 
on steam sufficient to keep his engine moving when it is at his disposal 
to give it all the steam necessary to work it to its full capacity. The 
engineer, therefore, takes into consideration the size of the engine, 
the particular type of engine, and the work to be performed. So, 
too, must the dairyman take into consideration the size of the cow, 
her individuality and also the particular t^pe of cow. A three-year- 
old heifer cannot be expected to be as productive as a cow several 
years older. A good type of cow will do better work than a poor 
type, in the same way that a Corliss engine will produce more power 
from a gi'ven amount of steam than a common slide valve engine. 
Inasmuch as the individual requirements of the animal must be given 
some consideration by a good dairyman it can readily be seen that 
feeding all animals the same amount of feed is not advisable or 
profitable. It would be foolish for a dairyman, if he expects to get 
the best results from his cows, to feed all the cows in the herd the 
same way, regardless of whether they are giving 15, 20, or 30 pounds 
of milk per day. This may be best emphasized by calling attention 
to the standard rations used in this connection all over the world. 
These were suggested by the eminent German authorities, Wolflf- 
Lehmann, as the result of their investigations. 



56 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 



Wolff-Lehmann Modified Standards. 

Digestible Nutrients. 

Dry Carbohy- Ether Nutri- 

Matter Protein drates Extract tive 

Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Ratio 

1 Whengivinglllbs. of nailk daily.. 25.0 1.6 10.0 .3 1:6.7 

2 When giving 163^ lbs. of milk daily 27.0 2.0 11.0 .4 1: 6.0 

3 When giving 22 lbs. of milk daily.. 29.0 2.5 13.0 .5 1:5.7 

4 When giving 273^ lbs. of milk daily 32.0 3.3 13.0 .8 1:4.5 
Standard maintenance ration daily. . . 18.0 .7 8.0 .1 1:11.8 



In looking over this table the reader will at once notice that the 
cow receives more feed when she is giving a larger quantity of milk; 
especially is the proportional increase greater in protein than in 
carbohydrates. The reason for this is very evident; protein is a very 
essential part of all foods. It is, in fact, that part which determines 
its value as a food; it is the nitrogenous part or that which is necessary 
for the formation of muscles of the body and casein in milk. It is 
also argued by some that it is one of the sources of fat in milk. Such 
feeds as clover, alfalfa, bran and gluten contain a great deal of protein, 
and for this reason they are very desirable feeds. Carbohydrates 
are found in more or less abundance in all feed and are easier to obtain 
than protein. Their chief property is the maintaining of the heat 
of the body. Starches and sugars are good examples of this class of 
feeds. 

Ether extract, so called because this element is extracted by ether 
when an examination of food is made under chemical analysis, is, in 
homely language, the fat of the feed. The principal function of this 
part of the food is similar to that of carbohydrates, that is, to maintain 
temperature. However, a pound of ether extract has within it the 
elements of more heat than a pound of carbohydrates. It is custom- 
-ary to say that one pound of ether extract has from 2.2 to 2.5 times 
the heat energy of a pound of carbohydrates. 

In compounding a ration we first estimate the amount of dry 
matter in the feed, that is, the amount that the feed would weigh if 
all the water it contained was driven off by heat. Similarly it is 
necessary to estimate the amounts of protein, carbohydrates and 
ether extract. There are several things, however, that must be 
taken into consideration. A good share of the protein is not digestible 
and therefore the animal may be charged with receiving protein 
which she cannot use. 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 



(From Henry's "Feeds and Feeding"): 

TABLE I. 

Water and total nutrients per 100 pounds feed. 

Crude Nitrogen Ether 

Feeding Stuffs. Water, Protein, Fiber, Free Extract, 

Roughage: Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Extract. Lbs. 

Corn Stover, field cured 40.5 3.8 19.7 31.5 1.1 

Red clover hay 15.3 12.3 24.8 38.1 3.3 

Timothy hay 13.2 5.9 29.0 45.0 2.5 

Oat straw 9.2 4.0 37.0 42.4 2.3 

Concentrates: 

Corn, dent 10.6 10.3 2.2 70.4 5.0 

Oats 11.0 11.8 9.5 59.7 5.0 

Wheat bran 11.9 15.4 9.0 53.9 4.0 

Linseed meal, O. P 9.2 32.9 8.9 35.4 7.9 

TABLE II. 



Total 
Feeding Stuffs Dry 

Roughage: Matter. 

Corn stover 59 . 5 

Red clover hay 84 . 7 

Timothy hay 86.8 

Oat straw 90.8 

Concentrates: 

Corn or corn meal 89 .4 

Oats 89.0 

Wheat bran 88.1 

Oilmeal, O. P 90,8 



Total digestible substances in 
100 Pounds. 



Protein 
1.7 
6.8 
2.8 
1.2 



Carbo- 

hvdrates. 

'32.4 

35.8 



9 
12 
29 



43 
38 

66 

47 
39 
32 



Ether 
Extract. 
0.7 
1.7 
1.4 
0.8 



4.3 
4.2 
2.7 
7.0 



Nutritive 
Ratio. 
1:20.0 
1: 5.8 
1:16.7 
1:33.7 

1: 9.8 
1: 6.2 
1: 3.7 
1: 1.7 



In the above, attention is called to the total protein content of 
wheat bran, which is 15.4 pounds per 100 pounds of the feed. In 
the second table it will be learned that of this only 12.2 pounds are 
digestible, the amount of protein available for the animal. 

Oat straw contains, as is shown in the first table, 4.0 per cent of 
protein. In the second table, 100 pounds of oat straw contains only 
1.2 pounds of digestible protein. The value of knowing the amount 
of digestible nutrients the feed contains cannot be overestimated. 

It may be cited that certain feeds, such as oat straw, are so 
deficient in nourishment that it would be necessary for a cow t» 
eat two or three hundred pounds of the same in order to furnish her 
body with sufficient nourishment to enable her to secrete twenty to 
twenty-four pounds of milk in a day. This, of course, is an impossi- 
bility, but is mentioned to show that a cow cannot be turned out 
to a straw stack with the expectation that her flow of milk will 
be kept up. 



58 



PRO FITA BLE DAIRYING 

On the other hand, it is well known that pasture is about as good 
a ration as we ordinarily find, and for this reason cows usually give 
a large flow of milk during June and July because all the elements 
necessary to maintain the body and manufacture the milk are found 
in succulent pasture grass. 

When we speak of a balanced ration we mean a ration where the 
protein, carbohydrates and ether extracts are combined in about 
the right proportion. Wolff and Lehmann adopted a standard 
whereby every cow yielding twenty-two pounds of milk daily should 
receive a ration containing twenty-nine pounds of dry matter, of 
which 2.5 pounds should be digestible protein, thirteen pounds 
digestible carbohydrates, and .5 pound digestible ether extract. The 
nutritive ratio which they adopted was 1 :5.7. 

The matter of computing the nutritive ratio is not so difficult 
as one might believe, and may be briefly explained as follows: Mul- 
tiply the digestible ether extract by 2.4 (inasmuch as it is presumed 
that each pound of ether extract furnishes 2.4 times the heat units 
that are found in one pound of carbohydrates), add to this the digest- 
ible carbohydrates, and divide the sum by the digestible protein in 
the food. In the above multiplying .5 by 2.4 we get 1.2; adding 
1.2 to 13.0 we get the sum 14.2; dividing this by 2.5 we get 5.7. The 
ratio of the protein, therefore, to the other constituents is 1 :5.7, or 1 
part of protein to every 5.7 parts of carbohydrates or their equivalent. 

The Wolff-Lehmann standard has been largely superseded by 
American standards. The best one of them was given to us by 
Professor T. L. Haecker of Minnesota as a result of his investigation 
and varies with the amount and quality of milk a cow produces. He 
first establishes a maintenance ration (the amount of feed required 
to keep a dry cow at a constant weight) and to this he adds an addi- 
tional ration necessary to produce the amount of milk which the 
cow is capable of producing, as will be observed from a study of the 
following table: 

TABLE III. 

Showing maintenance rations for cows of different weights. 



Weight 


Protein 


Carbohydrates 


Ether Extract 


800 


.56 


5.6 


.08 


900 


.63 


6.3 


.09 


1000 


.70 


7.0 


.10 


1100 


.77 


7.7 


.11 


1200 


.84 


8.4 


.12 


1400 


.98 


9.8 


.14 


1600 


1.12 


11.2 


.16 



59 



PROF ITABLE DAIRYING 

In practical feeding an allowance of .7 pounds digestible protein, 
7.0 pounds digestible carbohydrates and .1 pound ether extract per 
1,000 pounds of live weight will suffice. 

To the maintenance there should be added an amount of feed 
sufficient to produce the amount of milk which the cow is capable 
of yielding. Haecker has shown that this varies with the richness 
of the milk as well as with its quantity. An examination of the follow- 
ing table makes this apparent. 

TABLE IV. 

Showing feed required for the production of 10 pounds of milk of varying 



richness. 

Per cent Fat in Milk 


Protein 


Carbohydrates 


Ether Extract 


3.00 


.47 


2.00 


.17 


3.50 


.49 


2.21 


.19 


4.00 


.54 


2.42 


.21 


4.50 


.57 


2.64 


.23 


5.00 


.60 


2.84 


.24 


5.50 


.64 


3.00 


.26 



From the above table it is easily possible to calculate the amount 
of feed required to produce a given quantity of milk of any richness 
by a cow of any given size. 

Haecker's standards have been still further simplified for practical 
use by putting them in the form of the following rules for feeding 
grain and roughage: 

Rule I. Feed as many pounds of grain daily as the cow produces 
pounds of fat per week with all the hay and silage she will eat. 

Rule II. Feed one pound of grain daily for each three to four 
pounds of milk which the cow gives daily and all the roughage the cow 
will eat. It must be understood that both of these depend upon the kind 
of grain and roughage to be fed, which must in themselves constitute 
a good dairy ration and must contain the right amount of protein, 
carbohydrates and fat in the right proportions. With oat straw as 
roughage and corn meal as grain the rules would be valueless, since 
neither is sufficiently rich in protein. On the other hand, alfalfa 
hay and bran fed according to the above rules would prove very 
expensive feeds. To apply the rules successfully the ration must be 
first compounded and balanced before being fed as directed in the 
rules. 

A dairyman can easily compute the amount of feed that each cow 
should receive per day; and can also compute the cost of this feed. 
By formulating several rations he can easily calculate the rations 
that will cost him the least and in this way he is able to save in the 
cost of feed. 

GO 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 

There is no subject connected with dairying which the interested 
farmer can study with more profit to himself than that of feeding 
the dairy cow. It is impossible in so brief a work as this to more 
than mention what can be done. Some reliable text on feeds and 
feeding should be in the possession of those in any way connected 
with the feeding of dairy cows. 

Herewith is appended a list of the common feeds found in America, 

with analysis of each. The table shows the dry matter and the 
digestible nutrients per 100 pounds feeding stuff. The data for the 
same is taken from "Feeds and Feeding": 

TABLE VIII. 

Dry Carbo- 

Concentrates. Matter, Protein, hydrates, Fat, 

Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. 

Corn, all Analysis 89.1 7.9 66.7 4.3 

Gluten meal 91.8 25.8 43.3 11.0 

Wheat 89.5 10.2 69.2 1.7 

Wheatbran 88.1 12.2 39.2 2.7 

Wheat shorts 88.2 12.2 50.0 3.6 

Rye 88.4 9.9 67.6 1.1 

Rye bran 88.4 11.5 50.3 2.0 

Rye shorts 90.7 11.9 45.1 1.6 

Barley 89.1 8.7 65.6 1.6 

Malt sprouts 89.8 18.6 37.1 1.7 

Brewers' grains, dried 91 .8 15.7 36.3 5.1 

Oats 89.0 9.2 47.3 4.2 

Sorghum seed 87.2 7.0 52.1 3.1 

Kaffir corn 84.8 7.8 57.1 2.7 

Millet 86.0 8.9 45.0 3.2 

Flaxseed 00.8 20.6 17.1 29.0 

Linseed meal, old process 90 .8 29 .3 32 . 7 7.0 

Linseed meal, new process 89 . 9 28 . 2 40 . 1 2.8 

Cotton-seed meal 91.8 37.2 16.9 12.2 

Peas 89.5 16.8 51.8 0.7 

Soybean 89.2 29.0 22.3 14.4 

Cow peas 85.2 18.3 54.2 1.1 

Roughage 

Fodder corn, lield cured 57.8 2.5 34.6 1.2 

Corn sto\-er, husked shock corn, field 

cured 59.5 1.7 32.4 0.7 

Pasture grasses (mixed) 20.0 2.5 10.2 0.5 

Hay 

Timothy 86.8 2.8 43.4 1.4 

Orchard grass 00 1 4.9 42.3 1.4 

Redtop 91.1 4.8 46.9 1.0 

Kentucky blue grass 78.8 4.8 37.3 2.0 

Oat Hay 91.1 4.3 46.4 1.5 

61 



PROFITAB LE DAIRYING 



TABLE VIII— Continued. 

Dry Carbo- 

Concentralcs. Matter, Protein, hydrates, Fat, 

Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. 
Straio 

Wheat 90.4 0.4 36.3 0.4 

Oat 90.8 1.2 38.6 0.8 

Legume Hay and Strai:' 

Red clover, medium 84.7 6.8 35.8 1.7 

Red clover, mammoth 78.8 5.7 32.0 1.9 

Alsike clover 90.3 8.4 42.5 1.5 

Crimson clover 90.4 10.5 34.9 1.2 

Alfalfa 91.6 11.0 39.6 1.2 

Cowpeas 89.3 10.8 • 38.6 1.1 

Pea vine straw 86.4 4.3 32.3 0.8 

Silage 

Corn 20.9 0.9 11.3 0.7 

Clover 28.0 2.0 13.5 1.0 

Alfalfa 27.5 3.0 8.5 1.9 

Roots and Tubers 

Potato 21.1 0.9 16.3 0.1 

Beet, common 13.0 1.2 8.8 0.1 

Beet, sugar 13.5 1.1 10.2 0.1 

Beet, mangel 9.1 1.1 5.4 0.1 

Rutabaga 11.4 1.0 8.1 0.2 

Miscellaneous. 

Cabbage 15.3 1.8 8.2 0.4 

Beet pulp 10.2 0.6 7.3 .0 

Cow.s'milk 12.8 3.6 4.9 3.7 

Cows' milk, colostrum 25 .4 17 .6 2.7 3.6 

Skim milk, gravity 9.6 3.1 4.7 0.8 

Skim milk, centrifugal 9.4 3.9 5.2 0.3 

Buttermilk 9.9 3.9 4.0 1.3 

Whey 6.6 0.8 4.7 0.1 

EXERCISES. 

1. Calculate a ration for a dairy cow giving 22 pounds milk 
daily, using com, clover hay, and wheat bran as feeds by the Wolff- 
Lehmann Standard. 

2. Suppose the cow weighs 1,000 pounds, calculate the ration 
using the Haecker standard. 

3. Make a ration from the same feeds b}^ using the two rules 
given above. 

4. Now compare all these rations. How do they differ? Is this 
difference great or slight? 

o. What rations do you feed on the home farm? 

(1. Can you calculate a better ration from the same feeds? 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 

CHAPTER XIII. 
RELATION OF DAIRYING TO THE SOIL. 

Progressive farmers have learned that exclusive grain farming 
does not pay in the long run, and they have gone into dairying and 
prospered. Now, why is dairy farming so much better? Because 
the grain and hay raised on the farm are fed there and find their 
way back to the soil in the form of barnyard manure. Very little 
soil matter is sold from the farm in dairy farming. Professor W. 
H. Dexter says: "The maintenance of soil fertility constitutes one 
of the greatest opportunities for dairying. A ton of wheat worth 
$22.00 removes from the farm S7.59 worth of plant food. A ton of 
butter worth $500 removes less than 50 cents worth of plant food 
from the farm." Since the price of fertilizers has advanced con- 
siderably since this statement was made, the figures now are much 
higher. A little calculation will show that the amount of fertilizer 
contained in the manure produced annually by a dairy cow is worth 
nearly $20.00, if it is carefully saved and returned again to the land. 

Again, the wise dairy farmer raises much clover, alfalfa, cow- 
peas or soy beans for forage plants. These plants are legumes and 
have associated with them microscopic germs called bacteria which 
live in little nodules on the roots of these plants. To convince your- 
self of this fact, pull up any one of the above mentioned plants and 
examine its roots for these nodules. They are not always to be found, 
but usually can be. Now, what is the use of these germs? The soil 
contains but small quantities of nitrogen, a substance without which 
no plant can grow, no animal thrive, indeed, no life exist. This small 
quantity of nitrogen is combined in the soil with other elements in a 
form readily soluble in water, and in this dissolved condition finds 
its way into the plant through the roots. It is then built into the 
body of the plant. Animals get all their nitrogen from the plants 
on which they feed, and the plants get theirs from this small store 
of nitrogen in the soil. The air is four-fifths nitrogen, but, strangely 
enough, neither plants nor animals can make use of this abundant 
supply of "free" nitrogen, as it is called. But the little germs living 
in the nodules on the roots of clover and other legumes, can and do 
make use of this "free" nitrogen of the air. They take it and combine 
it with other substances and store it up in these nodules in much the 
same manner as the honey-bee stores up his supply of honey for the 
time of need. The clover plant then robs the nodules of their stored- 
up nitrogen and incorporates it into its own tissues. From the clover 
it is passed on to the dairy cow, finds its way into the milk pail, serves 

63 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 

as food for pigs and calves and is ultimately returned again to the 
soil in the form of barnyard manure. Thus it will be seen that the 
use of clover, alfalfa and other legumes actually adds to the store of 
nitrogen in the soil and the dairy farmer, instead of exhausting the 
nitrogen in his soil finds it, under his intelligent management, contin- 
ually improving. 

It should be mentioned in this connection, however, that legumes 
do not add potash or phosphoric acid to the soil, but like every other 
plant, remove these substances. But since nitrogen is the substance 
soonest exhausted from almost every soil, and since the legumes raised 
on the farm are usually fed there, these plants may be said to maintain 
the fertility of the soil. 

In determining upon the kind of dairying to be pursued, the 
farmer must be governed by conditions. Whether to sell his milk 
or to make it into butter or cheese will depend upon his nearness 
to factories and markets, the relative price of milk, butter and cheese, 
and other local conditions. One fact must be constantly kept m 
mind. All kinds of dairying are not equally light on the soil. The 
farmer who sells his milk to consumers takes from his farm all the 
soil elements found in the whole milk. The sale of cheese returns 
a portion of these soil elements in the whey, while the sale of butter 
removes from the farm practically nothing of a soil nature. The 
milk required to produce a ton of butter contains 450 pounds of 
fertilizing substances, worth about $45.00. The cheese made from 
the same amount of milk removes about half as much of these sub- 
stances, while the total amount of soil matter in a ton of butter has 
already been stated to be worth less than fifty cents. All else being 
equal, it is better to make butter than cheese for the market as it is 
so very light on the soil. Again, the skim milk is available to feed 
on the farm, while whey has a much less feeding value. 

In order to compare the effect of dairying on the soil with the 
other kinds of farming, let us suppose that forty acres of land will 
support ten cows. This is easily possible, and there are those who 
look forward to the time when they will have a cow to the acre on 
the best dairy farms. Should each cow produce 5,000 pounds of 
milk annuallv, we would have 50,000 pounds of milk. This amount 
will make on the average 5,000 pounds of cheese or 2,000 pounds 
of butter. It has already been shown that this amount of milk, if 
sold from the farm to city consumers, removes about S45.00 worth of 
fertility, while the 5,000 pounds of cheese contains about S25.00 
worth, and the ton of butter less than 50 cents worth. If clover or 
any of the other legumes has been raised for feed it has probably 

64 



PROFITA BLE DAIRYING 

turned this value in air nitrogen back into the soil, so that very little 
if any of the fertility has been lost. 

Now, what would be the result of raising grain, tobacco, pota- 
toes or beets for the market on the same plat of ground? Let us 
see. The average production of oats, corn, wheat, rye, barley and 
potatoes for the United States, according to the year book of the 
Department of Agriculture, is as follows: 

Oats 30 bu. per acre 

Wheat 14 bu. per acre 

Rye 15 bu. per acre 

Corn 25 bu. per acre 

Barley 25 bu. per acre 

■ Potatoes 90 bu. per acre 

These averages are low and much less than can ordinarily be 
raised per acre with intelligent farming. But accepting these averages 
for our forty-acre farm, we have the follov.ing: 

1,200 bushels of oats containing worth of soil fertility $150.00 

560 bushels of wheat containing worth of soil fertility 145.00 

600 bushels of rye containing worth of soil fertility 130 .00 

1,000 bushels of corn containing worth of soil fertility 165.00 

1,000 bushels of barley containing worth of soil fertility 153.00 

3,600 bushels of potatoes containing worth of soil fertility 75.00 

If tobacco is grown instead of these, with 1,000 pounds of this 
crop per acre, $300 worth of soil fertility is sold, and with ten tons 
of sugar beets per acre (a low estimate) $275 worth of soil fertility 
is removed annually. 

These calculations are based on the average analysis of the above 
products, average yield for the United States, and the present price 
of commercial fertilizers, viz., nitrogen, 19 cents per pound, phos- 
phoric acid, 5 cents per pound, and potash 5 cents per pound. It 
only requires a careful comparison of the above figures to convince 
the thoughtful farmer of the great advantage of dairy farming over 
other lines of agriculture. If it is impossible for the farmer to go into 
dairy farming exclusively he can do the next best thing, keep a few 
cows, raise legumes for feed, engage in diversified farming, practice 
rotation of crops, sell less off the farm and feed more on it. In this 
way he will preserve for himself more of his most valuable asset, the 
fertility of the land. 

65 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 



EXERCISES. 

1. What is meant by a three year rotation? 

2. Outline a five year rotation. 

'A. Which removes the greatest amount of fertility value from 
the soil, oats or tobacco? 

4. How do you dispose of your milk at home? 

5. What is done with the barnyard manure? 

6. What is done with the crop grown on the land? 

7. Can you suggest a better way to keep up the fertility on the 
home farm? 



66 



PROFITA BLE DAIRYING 

CHAPTER XIV. 
CARE OF THE COW. 

One of the cardinal points that a good dairyman will observe 
in handling his cows is regularity in all his work. He will feed them 
at definite hours, and milk them at stated intervals; that is, if a 
cow is milked at sLx in the morning she should be milked about 
six o'clock at night, the best results being obtained when the time 
between milkings is the same. It may be interesting to note that 
the records show that London receives its poorest milk on Monday. 
This is accounted for by the fact that the farmers are not so regular 
in their work on Sunday as during the rest of the week. 

If for any reason it is advisable to change the feed of a herd it 
should be done gradually, so that the cows will become accustomed 
to the change and not be affected in any way. For instance, when it 
becomes necessary to begin the feeding of ensilage a very small 
portion should be fed the first time, followed by a gradual increase 
in the amount. In this way cows will not get ''off feed" so readily. 
Many dairymen are so skillful that they can keep changing feeds from 
time to time without the cows showing any ill effects. This is due 
to their judicious method of feeding. 

The real purpose of keeping cows is to make a profit, and he is 
indeed a foolish dairyman who Vvill furnish his cows with the best 
of feed and shelter and then spoil it all by abusing them. If he is 
at all observing he will note within a very short time that it does 
not pay to abuse or ill-treat a cow. He must remember that she is a 
brute and he is a man, and if she ill-behaves in any way it is because 
she is following the law of nature and is trying to protect herself. 
A cow will hold up her milk because she is not in an ecjuable frame of 
mind; perhaps she is afraid of punishment. Some milker may have 
clubbed her with a milk stool and she remembers it and is nervous. 
Scolding or loud and excited talking also makes her nervous. It is 
needless to remark that chasing cows with dogs is not going to improve 
either the flow of milk or its quality. The practice of petting cows 
is to be commended, as they respond to kind and gentle treatment 
in a way that is profitable for the owner. 

When cows were still in their wild state, nature provided them 
with horns to protect themselves and their offspring. However, 
as the dairyman now protects his herd against the ravages of wolves 
and other wild beasts, these appendages are not necessary and should 
be removed. This can be done in a humane way when they are calves 
and the effect is hardly noticeable. In case a cow is purchased that 

07 



PRO FITABLE DAIR YING 

has horns, she should be dehorned as soon as possible, both as a pro- 
tection for her owner and also the members of the herd. She may 
shrink in flesh at first, the flow of milk may be somewhat less, and the 
test will be apt to drop, but these are only temporary effects; in fact 
she will recover from this shrinkage within a week or two and is 
likely to gain more than she lost. Cattle that are dehorned become 
more docile and will not be in constant dread of being hooked by other 
members of the herd. They can be sheltered more conveniently; 
in fact there are so many advantages in dehorning that we cannot 
urge it too strongly. 

In a previous chapter attention was called to the fact that a 
goodly share of the food provides heat and the maintenance for the 
body. It, therefore, is plain that if the body is not properly pro- 
tected it will take more feed to maintain a cow and for this reason 
if for no other she should be well sheltered. It must be remem- 
bered that a good dairy cow has not so thick a skin as the steer and 
not so much fat on her body to protect her from the cold. That it is 
profitable to protect her from the weather has been proven over and 
over again. The Indiana Experiment Station conducted a series of 
experiments and found that cows required less feed when well housed, 
and that they gave more milk as a result of this care. In fact, shelter- 
ing three cows for forty-eight days gave an increased profit of .112.75, 
or S4.25 for each cow. This is quite an item when a herd of twenty 
or thirty animals is considered. Just how cows should be sheltered 
depends a great deal on the location of the dairy farm, but in another 
chapter the importance of a good barn is discussed, and also the 
necessity for providing sufficient fresh air and plenty of sunlight. 

When sheltered during the winter season, it is very essential 
that cows be given sufficient exercise so that they are kept in a healthy 
condition. Some dairymen follow the rule that they allow their 
cows to go out of doors on such days as are comfortable for a man to 
walk about the yard for a short period of time in his shirt sleeves. 
For instance, if it should be a cold, rainy, drizzling day there would 
not be much pleasure for a man to walk about the yard without a 
coat and therefore it would not be advisable for him to turn his cows 
out. If the cow is not protected from rain as she should be, it has 
been demonstrated that the shrinkage of milk may be as much as 
ten per cent, and in case of a storm to which the cow is exposed, the 
shrinkage has been known to reach forty per cent. This, as every 
dairyman knows, is an enormous loss and goes to prove that it pays 
to protect the cows. In summer time they should be provided with 
a shady place where they can rest during the heat of the day. In 

68 



PROFITA BLE DAI RYING 

fly time it may be profitable for the farmer to keep his cows in the 
barn during the day. He can do this by soiling them, but in case 
they are put in the barn it is well to darken the windows so that the 
flies will not bother them. All dairymen know that when flies appear 
there is a great loss in flesh and also a serious dropping off in the milk. 
For this reason it may be well for the farmer to consider keeping his 
cows in the barn altogether during the fly season. It may cause 
extra work, but all told he will be amply repaid in money for the 
trouble. 

In all his conduct and actions toward his friends, the cows, the 
dairyman will always be governed by the bond of sympathy that 
shoiild exist between him and the animals in his charge. If he follows 
these instincts he cannot make many serious mistakes in his treatment 
and care of them. He will provide his cows with clean, palatable 
food which they will eat with relish, rather than feed which they will 
eat merely to keep from starving. He will provide them with warm 
water to drink in winter, rather than ice-cold water, because he feels 
he would not like to drink such water himself. He will soon learn 
that it is profitable for him to warm the water rather than to send 
them to the pond- where he has chopped a few holes in the ice, and 
expect them to drink sufficiently to meet their requirements. E.xperi- 
ment stations have proven that the shrinkage in the milk flow is 
considerable when warm water is not supplied. 

EXERCISES. 

1. What do you understand by the term "off feed?" 

2. How can cows be changed from one feed to another without 
showing any ill effects? 

3. Do you keep the cows or do the cows keep you? 

4. What is the best way to "break" in a cow to milk. 

5. Can a cow "hold up" her milk? 

6. In Europe they take better care of their cows than they do in 
America. Why? 



60 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 

CHAPTER XV. 

CARE OF UTENSILS. 

i Tinware is undoubtedly the most satisfactory material for dairy 
utensils. Wooden vessels are very objectionable, inasmuch as the 
pores of the wood absorb the milk, and, therefore, soon become 
foul. In purchasing vessels only those that are durable and well 
covered with tin should be selected. The corners should be flushed 
with solder so that the milk will not have hiding places, thus affording 
an opportunity for germs to grow. All utensils should be washed 
with a brush, as a brush is far more sanitary than a dish cloth, which 
will soon become foul in spite of the efforts made to keep it clean. 
Greasy soap powders should be avoided. There are many kinds of 
powder on the market that will dissolve dirt and grease and are 
still sanitary. If nothing better can be obtained either sal soda 
or borax may be used. One of the best purifying agencies that the 
dairyman has is the sunlight. After the vessels are washed they 
should be exposed to the sunshine and air, away from the dust, and 
placed so that they will drain well. 

In washing tinware it should first be rinsed with cold water to 
remove the milk; it should then be washed with lukewarm water 
and finally scalded or steamed. If this method is followed it is very 
easy to wash the separator. Many dairymen make the mistake of 
flushing the separator with scalding hot water. This will have a 
tendency to cook on the impurities and about the only way that they 
can then be removed is to scrape them off with a knife. Whereas, 
if the separator is flushed with lukewarm water, taken apart and 
cleaned at once, it is not much of a task. It is needless to say that 
the separator should be washed each time it is used. 

It has been proven that if the separator is allowed to stand without 
being washed, the impurities will dry on so that it will take consider- 
able time and labor to wash it thoroughly. It is labor actually saved 
to wash the separator twice a day and only the separator that receives 
such care is in sanitary condition for future use. 

Looking at it from a purely selfish standpoint it is advisable to 
wash all tinware carefully each time it is used. If this is not done 
with a separator the interior of the bowl will soon become rusty, small 
particles of curd will dry on certain parts of it throwing it out of 
perfect balance and the result will be greater losses in the skim milk. 
There is no reason why good tinware properly cared for should not 
last for many years. Neglect and misuse are the chief causes for 
dairy utensils getting out of order. 



PROFITAB LE DA IRYING 

EXERCISES. 

1. Why should a dish rag not be tolerated in a dairy? 

2. How can you prove that sunlight will prevent bacterial 
growth? 

3. Why not use wooden pails in preference to tin pails? 

4. Would you like to use the cream from a separator washe(^ 
only once a day? 



71 



PROFITABLE DAIR YING 

CHAPTER XVI. 
CARE OF MILK AND CREAM. 

Milk, as it is secreted in the cells of the udder, is germ free. If 
it were possible to get the milk in this condition into germ free recep- 
tacles and if it could then be kept free from contamination, milk 
would keep indefinitely. But this is impossible. A few germs 
always work their way up into the cavities of the cistern above the 
teat and multiply enormously, owing to the favorable conditions 
existing there. If this first milk, or foremilk, as it is called, is milked 
into the bucket, the practice of a good many milkers, we can see at 
once that contamination is introduced at the very beginning of the 
milking process. It is advisable to squirt this foremilk on the ground; 
really there is little loss, as it is not very rich in fat. 

The problem of the dairyman is to keep the milk from being 
contaminated either by dirt entering into it or by its absorbing 
undesirable odors. It is unnecessary to state that the stables should 
be clean and dry and well ventilated; the health of the animals 
demands it. In Denmark it is customary to whitewash the stables 
four times each year; they have found that it is very profitable to 
do this. Whitewash is odorless and very cheap, and it is a pity 
that dairymen in general do not use it more freely. 

It goes without saying that there should be no cesspools about 
the stable, and the ground under the barn should be well drained. 
Poor drainage cannot help but cause objectionable odors about the 
bam. 

One of the things a dairyman will observe carefully is to do his 
feeding after milking so that the atmosphere will not contain so 
much dust. He will also feed his cows such feeds as ensilage after 
milking rather than before or during milking time, because the odor 
of these foods will taint the milk. 

The udder and flanks should be wiped with a damp cloth imme- 
diately before milking so that dust and dirt will not be constantly 
falling into the milk pails. It has been demonstrated that twenty 
times as much dirt falls into the bucket when the udder is in a soiled 
condition as when it is wiped with a damp cloth, and one hundred 
times as much when the udder is dirty as when it has been kept clean. 

Cows should have ample bedding, but this bedding should not 
be disturbed immediately before milking, inasmuch as that will 
cause the air to be filled with small particles of dust, a large share 
of which will find its way into the milk bucket. 

The dairyman should always bear in mind that in handling milk 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 

he is dealing with a food product. Therefore, if any of his cows 
should be diseased or in ill health, or give gargety milk or bloody 
milk, this milk should not be used for human consumption. Colo- 
strum milk or the milk which a cow secretes immediately after calving 
should not, of course, be used for four or five days, or until the milk 
has become normal; nor should cow's milk be used for the thirty days 
immediately before calving. 

Taking everything in consideration, probably the best form of 
pail that a dairyman can use is one that is covered, as such a pail 
excludes practically all dirt. It has already been mentioned thai 
a dairyman is dealing with a food product, hence the advisability 
of providing a clean, sanitary place in the barn where the milk can 
be held during the time of milking. 

The milk should be strained as soon as possible through several 
thicknesses of cheesecloth. It is advised by some that milk should 
be aerated to remove animal heat and the odors absorbed from certain 
feeds. Although much may be said in favor of it, great care must be 
exercised in aerating milk. If a farmer is in doubt whether to aerate 
his milk or cool it, it would be better for him to cool it for the reason 
that simply aerating will not reduce the temperature of the milk 
sufficiently. Aerating must be done in a very cleanly, sweet smelling 
place, otherwise during this process the milk will absorb undesirable 
odors. In case the milk is not separated it should be cooled down at 
once, and this can only be done by placing the cans in cold water 
and stirring the milk frequently until cold. It is not advisable, of 
course, to cover the cans tightly, because milk will have a better 
flavor if some of the odors of the same are allowed to escape. It is 
poor policy to pour warm and cold milk together for the purpose of 
cooling the warm milk. This should never be done. In case a hand 
separator is used it is not necessary to cool at once, because the separ- 
ator will do better work when the milk is at the temperature it comes 
from the cow. 

The hand separator is becoming very popular. The advantages 
in using one of these machines, such as the increased value of the 
fresh skim milk and the amount of labor saved in hauling to the 
factory, are so well known that further comment is imnecessary. 
However, many farmers either willfully or by reason of a lack of 
knowledge utterly neglect to take care of their cream properly and 
in this way bring the hand separator into disrepute. 

Needless to say, a separator should not be placed in a barn. A 
suitable milk house will prove as profitable to a farmer as a suitable 
granary. Cream should be cooled down at once to prevent its souring. 

73 



PROFITABLE DAIR YING 

It should be placed where the atmosphere is pure and where it will 
not absorb undesirable odors. It should be delivered to the factory 
at least every other day, and during the time that it is under the 
farmer's care it should be stirred occasionally. Many think that it is 
unnecessary to cool the cream, inasmuch as the buttermaker will 
have to sour it anyway. It must be remembered that he should have 
control of the ripening process in order to make a uniform product 
from day to day. Even if the cream does not become sour, it ought 
not to stand longer than forty-eight hours for the reason that many 
organisms develop in cream held at a low temperature, and unfortu- 
nately such organisms have tlie property of imparting a very bitter 
flavor to the cream, which in turn is transmitted to the butter. Cream 
should be delivered to the factory sweet and clean before we have a. 
right to expect the butter maker to place on the market an article 
that will bring the highest cash price. 

There are other sources of contamination that should be guarded 
against. One of these is uncleanly habits on the part of the milker. 
It is desirable that he be attired in clean overalls and jacket; these 
need not be expensive and can be slipped on just before milking. 
The hands of the milker should be washed clean and dried before 
he begins his work. Much may be said as to the method of milking, 
but it is understood by all practical dairymen that a cow should be 
milked with "dry" and not with wet hands. Many have acquired 
the habit of milking "wet," as it is usually termed, and it may be 
hard for them to reform, but if they will observe the filthiness of this 
practice they will recognize this as a great source of contamination. 

EXERCISES. 

1. How many bacteria are there in a cubic centimeter of ordinary 
milk twenty-foijr hours old? 

2. Are these bacteria larger or smaller than the fat globules? 

3. How do bacteria get into the milk? 

4. Why not keep out the bacteria by straining the milk through 
very fine absorbent cotton? 

5. Will milk sour if kept at a temperature of 45° F. 
G. What causes some milk to be "ropey." 

7. Is colostrum milk poisonous? 

8. Why do we have more bitter milk in the winter time than in 
the summer time? 



74 



PROF ITA BLE DAI RYING 

CHAPTER XVII. 
TUBERCULOSIS. 

No treatise on the subject of dairying is complete unless some 
mention is made of tuberculosis, that dreaded disease which has 
already carried off thousands of cattle, and whose ravages continue 
almost unabated. 

It is said that one out of every seven people who die fall victims 
of tuberculosis, or consumption, as it is commonly called. It is 
now pretty generally believed that tuberculosis in cattle and con- 
sumption in the human family are practically one and the same 
disease, and that this disease can be transmitted from one species 
to the other. Young children fed on the milk of tuberculosis cows 
are likely to contract the disease, and calves and pigs consuming 
infected milk are almost certain to be affected. 

Tuberculosis is a germ disease, that is, it is caused by the growth 
arid multiplication of very minute organisms within the animal 
body. The disease cannot be contracted without the entrance of 
these germs. The introduction of a single infected animal into the 
herd is likely to inoculate the whole herd, as the tubercle germs are 
thrown off with the saliva and other excretions. These germs when 
dry will live in the dark for months and, settling upon the hay and 
other feed, are transmitted from animal to animal. Skim milk from 
creameries and whey from cheese factories are other sources of infec- 
tion. Here the milk from infected cows is mixed in a common tank 
with other milk and the whole supply thus becomes contaminated. 
In this way the disease is often spread throughout an entire neigh- 
borhood. 

Tubercle bacilli cannot live at a temperature of 160 degrees F., 
and in direct sunlight they die in less than two hours. Pasteurizing 
whey and skim milk, that is, heating it to 160 degrees F., will kill 
these germs and prevent the spread of disease from factory centers. 
Plenty of sunlight, fresh air and the use of whitewash in stables are 
effective means of preventing the rapid spreading of the disease in 
herds. 

However, the disease cannot be communicated from one vicinity 
to another except through the introduction of diseased animals into 
the neighborhood, and some states have required that all animals 
imported within their borders should pass the tuberculin test. Now 
what is this test? 

The United States Department of Agriculture and some of the 
state experiment stations are engaged in preparing and distributing 



PROFITA BLE DAIRYING 

tuberculin, a coffee-colored liquid, which if injected under the skin 
of infected animals will cause a rise in the animal's temperature. 
No change is produced, however, by injecting this substance under 
the skin of a healthy animal. During the test the animals must be 
kept in as nearly a normal condition as possible. Before injection 
four temperatures are taken with a clinical thermometer, two hours 
apart. These temperatures are taken by inserting the thermometer 
in the rectum and allowing it to remain there for three or four minutes 
before reading. About half a teaspoonful (2 c. c.) of the tuberculin 
is then injected underneath the skin, ususally at the shoulder, with an 
ordinary hypodermic syringe. Eight to ten hours after injection 
five more temperatures are taken in the same manner, two hours 
apart. A rise in temperature of two degrees is considered a "positive 
reaction," that is, the animal is said to be diseased. 

Diseased animals should be removed from the rest of the herd 
and disposed of according to the law in force in the state. 

Since there are so many conditions which may affect the tempera- 
ture of an animal during the progress of the test, it should never be 
undertaken except by an experienced tester or under supervision of 
a competent veterinarian if reliable results are to be expected. 

Some of the factors that may cause a change in temperature are 
as follows: 

1. Drinking a large amount of cold water will cause a fall in 
temperature. 

2. Confinement in a close hot stable to which the animals are 
unaccustomed will cause a rise in temperature. 

3. Nervous animals are likely to show a rise in temperature 
especially if annoyed. 

4. Turning out in cold raw weather will cause a fall in tempera- 
ture. 

5. Annoyance by strangers or dogs may cause a rise in tempera- 
ture. 

6. Any slight sickness will cause a change in temperature. 
The use of hand separators will prevent the introduction of the 

disease from factory skim milk, and if no animals are purchased 
but those that have been tested, the herd may be kept free from the 
disease. One of the greatest authorities on this subject in this country 
says in a recent bulletin: 

'Tf dairy farmers will do three things they may keep their herds 
free from the scourge: — 

"First— Find out the actual condition of their herds by applying 
the tuberculin test. 

76 



PRO FITA BLE DAIRYING 

"Second — If found free, buy in the future only tested stock or 
test them before admitting same to herd. 

"Third — For young stock and hogs use skim milk separated at 
home, or pasteurized properly at creamery or factory. 

"If disease is found, reacting animals should be separated and 
disposed of properly, and the barns adequately disinfected. In the 
case of valuable animals, healthy calves may generally be secured 
from reacting cows, if calves are separated at birth and fed on boiled 
milk of mother or milk from non-reacting animals. Remember the 
danger from tuberculosis lies in its hidden course of development, 
and for the sake of the herd itself, as well as for human beings con- 
suming the products of the herd, one cannot afford to neglect taking 
such steps as are necessary to find out positively the condition of their 
herd. If a stock owner is in the habit of buying and selling cattle, 
especially dairy stock, it is almost impossible to escape the disease. 
Even in some of the best beef breeds the disease has been widely 
prevalent. * * * jf Qj^jy tested dairy stock could be transferred 
from one owner to another the rapid spread of the disease would be 
checked, and it would not require much time to eradicate the herds 
already involved." 

EXERCISES. 

1. Why take several temperatures of an animal before injecting 
tuberculin? 

2. Why are several temperatures taken after the injection is 
made? 

3. What would be the affect of allowing a cow being tested for 
tuberculosis to have all the ice cold water she could drink? 

4. Why not buy cattle that have not been tested for tuberculosis? 

5. Did you ever test the home' herd for tuberculosis? 

6. Is there any possibility that you may have tuberculosis in 
your home herd? 



77 



PROF ITABLE DAIRYING 

CHAPTER XVII. 
DISPOSING OF MILK AND CREAM. 

Assuming that a dairyman has a herd that is producing a good 
flow of milk, the question naturally arises, what shall he do with this 
milk in order to have it yield him the largest net returns? The answer 
can only be -given by the dairyman himself after carefully studying 
his local situation. In certain localities it may be advisable to handle 
milk in 'a way differing from that in another locality, and local condi- 
tions must necessarily govern the methods of the disposal of milk. 
For instance, if a man is situated in close proximity to a city where 
the consumption of whole milk is very large it may be advisable for 
him to wholesale it directly to a milk dealer, or have a private trade 
of his own to w^hich he can deliver the same. In this case the necessary 
additional investment in horses, wagons, etc., must be considered. 
In selling whole milk it. must also be remembered that nothing is 
returned to the farm in the shape of skim milk. While the profits 
of selling milk in this way may appear larger, two things must be 
borne in mind, viz., the cost of delivery and the loss of the skim milk. 
The reader is referred to an earlier chapter entitled "The Relation 
of Dairying to the Soil," M'hich calls attention to the loss by removal 
of fertility to the soil when selling whole milk off the farm. 

Of course, if the farmer is eight or ten miles from a city such a 
method will be out of the question. He may then be compelled 
to sell his milk to a cheese factory, and in this case return to the 
farm about ninety pounds of whey for every one hundred pounds of 
milk delivered. The quality of whey varies greatly from time to 
time, depending upon the care it receives at the factory. Its food 
value is only about half as much as that of skim milk, because all 
of the casein has been removed from the milk in the process of cheese 
making. 

Or he may have an opportunity to sell his milk to a whole milk 
creamery where practically eighty pounds of skim milk are returned 
to him for every one hundred pounds of milk delivered. Whether 
to sell to a creamery rather than to a cheese factory, or vice versa, 
depends entirely upon local conditions. However, he must not lose 
sight of the fact that the skim milk returned is of more value to him 
than the whey if he can make use of the same for feeding purposes. 

One of the most profitable methods in many places is the selling 
of milk in the shape of cream. Many objections have been raised 
by creamerymen against the introduction of the hand separator, but 
there is no question but that in many localities this is the only practical 

78 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 

method that can be employed owing to the distance that the farmers 
Hve from the creamery, making long hauls necessary, which expense 
can be greatly reduced by delivering cream. Even in the important 
dairy regions of this country it has proven its worth, so that there is 
no question but that the hand separator is bound to have a place on 
most dairy farms. The fact that the dairyman, owning one of these 
machines, has better skim milk to feed his young stock is an important 
item. Then again, we hear very much about the spread of tubercu- 
losis and there is no question but that this disease can be soread 
through factory skim milk and whey. If the farmer wants to' keep 
his herd free from this dread disease it behooves him to be very careful 
as to the feeding of these factory by-products. 

Another important point is the fact that by the use of the hand 
separator the bulk that must be cooled is very materially lessened. 
Those who make an effort to deliver milk or cream in good condition 
appreciate this. 

Instead of selling cream to a butter factory, it may be sold for 
direct consumption. This is probably the most profitable method 
and yields the largest returns. The demand for good cream is 
rapidly increasing. In every city parties may be found who want 
to get good cream and are willing to pay for it. They may be hotel 
managers, boarding house keepers, candy makers, ice cream manu- 
facturers, and other people who are ready to contract for cream of a 
certain richness at a definite price per gallon. 

To show that it pays to cater to this sort of trade let it be assumed 
that a dair3/man can sell a gallon of twenty-five per cent cream for 
seventy cents. This may be more than a farmer can obtain in certain 
sections, but it is a fact that in many parts of this country even a 
higher price than this may be obtained. 

A gallon of cream weighs from 8.2 to 8.4 pounds, depending 
upon its richness. Roughly speaking a gallon of cream testing 25 
per cent contains about 2.1 pounds of fat. This 2.1 pounds of fat 
will make about 2.5 pounds of butter. If 70 cents is received for 
a gallon of 25 per cent cream it is practically equivalent to 28 cents 
a pound for butter. Besides this the extra labor and expense of 
ripening the cream, washing the butter, salting and packing it are 
avoided. 

There is no separator manufactured that will deliver cream uni- 
form in richness from day to day. Variations in tests, as has been 
previously explained, may be due to the rate at which the milk is 
fed into the bowl, the speed at which the separator is turned, the 
richness of the milk, and the temperature of the milk. For the above 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 

reasons occasional testing of the cream, therefore, to determine its 
richness cannot be depended upon, and on this account a farmer may 
be delivering a richer cream than is contracted for, losing money 
thereby. He cannot expect to offset this by delivering a poorer 
cream at times, because this will arouse dissatisfaction and he will 
lay himself liable to a breach of contract. The only safe way is to 
test the cream each time it is delivered and then add sufficient milk 
to dilute it to the required per cent of fat. This is called standardizing 
and is not so difficult as might be imagined. How this may be done 
is best illustrated by the use of the diagram below: 




Assuming that the dairyman has tested his cream and finds 
that it contains 30 per cent fat, he will place the 30 in the upper 
left hand corner of the square. It would be natural for him to 
dilute the cream with skim milk which we will assume tests 0, although 
it may test .1 of 1.0 per cent fat; for practical work, however, it may 
be said to test nothing; 0, therefore, is placed in the lower left hand 
corner. His contract calls for a 25 per cent cream, and 25 is placed 
where the diagonal lines cross in the center of the square. Subtract- 
ing 25 from 30 and following the diagonal line we place the difference, 
5, in the lower right hand corner. Th« difference between and 25 
is 25 and we put that in the upper right hand corner. We now have 
figures in each of the four corners. The diagram may now be explained 
as follows: Of the 30 per cent cream we take 25 pounds and of the 
skim milk 5 pounds; pouring these two together we have 30 pounds 
of 25 per cent cream. In other words, for every 25 pounds of 30 per 
cent cream 5 pounds of skim milk must be added, to dilute the cream 
so that it has a richness of 25 per cent fat, the quality of the cream 
contracted for. 

Again, let us assume that a dairyman has contracted to sell a 
20 per cent cream. He places the 20 in the center of the diagram. 
He tests his cream and finds that it contains 32 per cent fat. He 
has no skim milk with which to dilute this cream and must use whole 
milk. Upon testing the same he finds it to read 3.G per cent fat. As 
before, he puts the cream test in the upper left hand corner and the 
milk test in the lower left hand corner. The difference between 20 

80 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 



and 32 is 12; this is placed in the lower right hand corner. The 
difference between 20 and 3.6 is 16.4, which is placed in the upper 
right hand corner. Now, for every 16.4 pounds of 32 per cent cream 
he must add 12 pounds of milk testing 3.6 per cent, and when he 
pours these two together he will have 28.4 pounds of 20 per cent 
cream. 



16.4 




3.6 



The chief olDJection to the standardizing of cream is that it requires 
the dairyman to make a test of the, cream each time it is to be delivered. 
This, however, is not a valid objection, inasmuch as the returns 
usually more than pay for the trouble. 

Another method of standardizing cream which may prove satis- 
factory but which is not quite so accurate, is as follows: Find out 
how much the milk from the herd tests for a few days. There natur- 
ally will be some variation, but a test of the milk every few days will 
give the dairyman a fair idea of how much it will average. It will 
then only be necessary to weigh the milk and the cream. We will 
assume that a milkman made a contract to deliver 18.00 per cent 
cream to an ice cream factory, that he had 280 pounds of milk and 
that it tested approximately 4.20 per cent fat. Multiplying 280 by 
4.20 will give 11.7 pounds of fat; dividing the 11.7 by the test of 
the cream, 18.00, we get 65, or the number of pounds of cream 
testing 18.00 per cent which he should have that day. All that it is 
necessary for him to do now is to weigh the cream and add enough 
skim milk to bring the weight up to 65 pounds. While this method 
is not quite as accurate, it is in many cases fairly satisfactory. 

EXERCISES. 

1. Which is the most profitable way of disposing of the milk 
in your vicinity? 

2. What returns do you get per cow per year? 

3. What is the cost of keeping a cow in your vicinity? 

4. What is the weight of a gallon of milk? Of 20.0 per cent 
cream? 

5. How many gallons of 20.0 per cent cream will you get from 
100 pounds of 4.0 per cent milk? 

81 



PROFITA-BLE DAIRYING 

CHAPTER XIX. 
BUTTER MAKING AND CHEESE MAKING. 

Whether or not it will be profitable for a farmer to invest in an 
equipment so that he can properly make butter is another question 
that he alone can answer. The question resolves itself into this: 
Can he get an increased price for his product sufficient to warrant 
incurring the additional expenditure of money and labor necessary 
to produce a marketable product? 

In most sections of this country especially where the creameries 
are quite numerous most dairymen prefer to sell their cream to butter 
factories and thus save the labor and expense incident to the manufac- 
ture of butter on a small scale. There are some so fortunately 
situated that they can get a higher price for their cream by selling 
it for direct consumption and they sell it that way. There are others 
who for sentimental reasons prefer to make their own butter and there- 
fore the extra expense and labor is not looked upon as a serious 
obstacle. 

In certain sections of Europe butter is made of very sweet cream, 
which finds a ready sale. Such butter, however, has a peculiar flat, 
insipid flavor, objectionable to most people at first, but a taste for 
which can easily be acquired. This kind of butter does not keep well 
and therefore must be delivered fresh from the churn. 

In America people generally want what is known as ripened cream 
butter. Such butter has better keeping qualities. Cream for this 
kind of butter must undergo a "souring" process which is usually 
termed "ripening." One of the objects of ripening cream is to pro- 
duce flavor, and as flavor is a mgst important point to be considered 
it is evident that the ripening must be done properly. To hasten 
this process, and at the same time to aid it, it is often advisable to 
add what is termed a "starter." A good starter is a quantity of 
good, sour milk or skim milk in which the desirable organisms pro- 
ducing good flavors in butter have gained the ascendency, and which 
when added to the cream have a tendency to check the development 
of the less desirable organisms. In this way the dairyman may 
somewhat control the flavor of his butter. 

The matter of temperature is an important point. As a rule 
cream is ripened at a temperature of 65 to 70 degrees F., and when 
it reaches an acidity of four-tenths to five-tenths of one per cent 
(which may easily be determined by any one of the many acidity 
tests available), the cream is cooled to about 54 degrees and held 
at this temperature for at least two hours before churning, with an 

82 



PROFITA BLE DAI RYING 

occasional stirring. When cream is held for three or four days before 
churning, it should be well stirred at least twice each day. It is not 
desirable to hold cream at a low temperature longer than necessary, 
because, as has been previously sfated, at these low temperatures 
organisms develop that produce bitter flavors. Therefore the ripen- 
ing process should be started as soon as possible after separation, 
because the development of the lactic acid germs has a tendency to 
check the growth of these bitter flavor organisms. Great care must 
also be exercised to see that the cream does not get too sour, inasmuch 
as the keeping quality of the butter may be seriously impaired by over 
ripening. 

The best kind of a churn is one that has no internal parts. A 
barrel churn is about as satisfactory as any on the market. The 
cream, being ^t a low temperature, should not gather in much less 
than thirty minutes, otherwise the butter is apt to have a soft body. 
When the butter is gathered into granules about the size of wheat 
grains the buttermilk should be drained off and some clean, cold water 
added and the butter washed. Care should be exercised to prevent 
overchurning, for when butter is gathered into large lumps it cannot 
be washed properly. Since the purpose of washing butter is to remove 
most of the curd it is very essential that the granules be left small so 
that the curd can be easily removed. The amount of salt added is 
governed by the demands of the market. 

Probably the best way to add the salt when small quantities of 
butter are made is to practice what is termed "wet salting." By this 
method a small quantity of water is added to the salt to partly dis- 
solve it and then this brine and undissolved salt are added to the 
butter in the churn after the butter has been washed. 

During the working process the salt should be given time to dis- 
solve so that when the butter has been worked enough there will 
be no grittiness. It is very esseni-ial that the salt be uniformly 
distributed throughout the butter, otherwise we obtain what is 
known as mottles. Mottles are quite characteristic of dairy butter, 
and are very undesirable. They can easily be avoided by observing 
care in the method of manufacturing the butter. The style of package 
is regulated by the demand of the consumer, and of late years the 
one pound prints and two pound rolls have become very popular. 
Any other size or style of package may be used, but in every case 
the package should be neat and attractive. In fact, the two points 
to be observed in making butter are to produce an article that will 
be attractive to the eye and "tickle the palate." 



§3 



PROFITABLE DAIRYING 

A hundred pounds of butter fat in the milk will make approxi- 
mately about 116 pounds of butter. This is due to the fact that 
butter contains curd, salt, and water in addition to the butter fat. 

The composition of butter is approximately as follows: 

Fat 82.5% 

Water 14.5% 

Salt 2.0% 

Curd 1.0% 

100.0% 

The difference between the fat and the butter made from the same, 
expressed in percentage, is termed the "Overrun." This overrun 
will vary as the composition of the butter varies. The overrun is 
also greatly influenced by the losses of fat in the skim milk, butter- 
milk, etc. When the amount of fat in the cream is used as a basis 
of computation the overrun will approximately amount from 20.0 
per cent to 21.0 per cent. This serves to explain why the butter 
made from a definite amount of cream will not correspond with the 
fat in the cream. For instance, 100 pounds of cream testing 33.00 
per cent will contain 33 pounds of butter fat but the butter made 
from this cream (if the overrun is 20.0 per cent) will amount to 39.6 
pounds. 

The manufacture of cheese from milk is carried on quite exten- 
sively in two sections of this country, namely New York and Wisconsin, 
as will be seen by an examination of a table given in a previous 
chapter. Before the advent of the factory system much cheese was 
made on the farm. Fifty years ago about one hundred million 
pounds of cheese were annually made on the farms of the United 
States but owing to the superiority of factory cheese the amount made 
has steadily decreased until at the present time only about eight 
million pounds are made. 

Farm cheese-making has almost become a lost art. This is 
because the labor and expense of making cheese this way is much 
greater than where it is made at the factory. Then, too, the factory 
men as a class are better trained so that the quality of their cheese is 
better and they have the advantage in being able to market their 
product more profitably. Therefore taking everything into con- 
sideration it is evident that the manufacture of cheese on the farm is 
doomed. This does not mean, however, that many types of "fancy" 
cheese can not be made to good advantage on a dairy farm. Where 
market facilities are good, such types of cheese made by trained men 
can often be profitably manufactured and marketed. 

84 



PROF ITABLE DAIRYING 

The most common type of cheese made in the United States is 
what is termed "Cheddar" or "American" cheese. It is the cheese 
commonly sold at the grocery store. In Wisconsin there is a locality 
where a fine grade of Swiss cheese is made. This particular section 
was thickly settled by people from Switzerland and naturally they 
introduced the art of making Swiss cheese. 

In other sections of Wisconsin are also manufactured what are 
termed "Brick" and "Limburger" cheese — these are soft cheeses, 
very popular with some people. 

Successful cheesemaking depends upon the growth and develop- 
ment of favorable bacteria, and it is very essential to have good milk, 
much more so than is the case where the fat in the milk is manufac- 
tured into butter. Hence it follows that while ever>^thing should be 
done to produce good cream for butter-making it is all the more 
necessary to produce excellent milk for cheesemaking if a high grade 
product is desired. 

EXERCISE. 

1. Will the cream from stripper cows churn as readily as the 
cream from fresh cows? Why? 

2. Is "Jersey" cream butter better than "Holstein" cream butter? 

3. How many pounds of butter can be made from 380 pounds 
of 4.0 per cent milk? 

4. Thirty years ago dairymen talked about "cheese" and "but- 
ter" cows. Why the distinction? 

5. Which states in the Union produce the most cheese? The 
most butter? 



85 



Since 1905 the world's yearly records for fat pr 
been held succesrsively by the following cows: 



oduction have 



Year 



Name 



1905 Yeksa Sunbeam 

1907 Colantha 4th's Johanna 

1911 Ponliac Clothilde De Kol II 

1912 Banostine Belle De Kol 

1914 May Rilma 

1915 Mume Cowan 

1915 Finderne Holingen Fayne 

1915 Finderne Pride Johanna Rue 







Lbs. 


Lbs. 


State 


Breed 


Milk 


Fat 


Wisconsin 


Guernsey 


14,920.8 


857.15 


Wisconsin 


Holstein 


27,432.5 


998.26 


New York 


Hoist ein 


25,318.0 


1,017.28 


Ohio 


Holstein 


27,404.4 


1,058.34 


Pennsylvania 


Guernsey 


19,673.0 


1,073.41 


Ohio 


Guernsey 


24,008.0 


1,098.18 


New Jersey 


Holstein 


24,612.8 


1,116.05 


New Jersey 


Holstein 


28,403.7 


1,176.47 



86 




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LIBRPRY OF CONGRESS 



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